Hammond Timeline
1818 - (approximate) Peter Hammond arrives in the area
1825 - Peter Hammond finishes his log house on the land he bought and settles in with his wife, the former Carolyn
Tucker of Ponchatoula (and before that Boston, MA). Hammond made tar and pitch and hauled them by ox team to Springfield for shipment
to New Orleans by boat.
1835 - George Dunbar completes railroad survey.
1854 - New Orleans, Jackson, and Great Northern Railroad was completed and the settlement around Peter Hammond became known as "Hammond's Crossing."
1859 - Charles Emery Cate of New Orleans (and New Hampshire before that) and his wife Mertie Waterman Cate arrive, buying land from Hammond for
thirty-five cents per acre.
1862 - Charles Cate builds a sawmill (in the 100 block of what will become E Thomas). He begins construction of a shoe factory on the site of
the current Post Office.
1863 - Union army burns Cate shoe factory but leaves the brickyard intact.
1866 - Mrs Cate starts a Sunday School in her home; Mr Cate has Hyer Survey done.
1866 - Hammond streets are laid out (Hyer Survey) and tiny oak trees transplanted along the new streets.
1870 - Peter Hammond dies at seventy-two.
1880 - Hammond population reaches 277
1888 - Grace Memorial Episcopal Church is consecrated.
1889 - Hammond's Crossing is incorporated as Hammond.
189x - Strawberries begin shipping from Hammond.
1894 - Oaks Hotel opens on the southeast corner of "Square Fifty" (from the Hyer Survey). It was built by Colonel and Mrs Henry Robinson of Cedar
Rapids, IA. By 1901, Robinson has purchased the entire square from Cate.
1896 - July 24. Fire breaks out on east side of railroad tracks.
1898 - Boos Building completed at the corner of Thomas and NE Railroad Ave (N Cate)
1905 - October 12. Oaks Hotel destroyed by fire; Hammond passes bond issue to fund a city water works.
1907 - January 1. Second Oaks Hotel opens.
1912 - "New" Train Depot opens.
1919 - Jack Bahm opens his store in a former warehouse building of the Neelis Emporium.
1925 - Hammond Junior College opens
1928 - Columbia Theatre opens.
1929 - October 7. Second Oaks Hotel burns.
1931 - Oaks Hotel site acquired by The Strawberry & Vegetable Aucion, Inc. Favrot and Livaudais, Ltd. of New Orleans are the architects selected for
the reconstruction.
1932 - February 15. Oaks Hotel reopens as a part of the Alvis Hotel chain. In August, the Alvis chain relinquishes operation of the hotel to
The Strawberry & Vegetable Aucion. A contest to rename the hotel results in the name Casa de Fresa, which means "house of Berries."
1934 - Citizens National Bank opens in March.
1966 - August. Casa de Fresa closes.
1979 - February 6. Casa de Fresa is placed on the National Register of Historic Places. On Saturday April 21, the Casa de Fresa burns and the
roof falls in.
1984 - Citizens Natinal Bank opens in its new office in "Hotel Square," the former location of the Oaks and Casa de Fresa hotels.
1986 - Hammond Downtown Development District is created by the Legislature.
2002 - Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts reopens.
Page last updated 25 Nov 2003
Comments/suggestions to Janet Davis