1933, American English, from U.S. president Herbert C. Hoover (1874-1964), who was in office when the Depression began, + common place-name ending -ville. Earlier his name was the basis of Hooverize "economize on food" (1917) from his role as wartime head of the U.S. Food Administration.
A slum of makeshift shacks where unemployed workers live
[1930s+; fr President Herbert Hoover, who was president during the early years of the Great Depression]