Site of Extinct Town of Hammond
Calvert, Robertson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Dr. Ben F. Hammond moved here from Alabama in 1853 and built a plantation home about a mile to the west. Neighbors included James Love and Robert S. McCall. Hammond Depot and Post Office were opened at this point on the Houston & Texas Central Railroad after the doctor granted right-of-way through his land in 1869. Near the depot, used by planters for their shipping, were a few stores. As the railroad declined, the town had vanished by 1950. Area residents are mostly the descendants of persons given land at Emancipation (1865) by Dr. Hammond and other planters.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Dr. Ben F. Hammond arrived from Alabama in 1853 and built a plantation nearby, and when he granted right-of-way to the Houston & Texas Central Railroad in 1869 a depot, post office, and a few stores sprang up to ship planters' goods. As the railroad's fortunes faded, the town withered and had vanished by 1950. Many area residents today descend from the people whom Hammond and neighboring planters gave land to at Emancipation in 1865.
Why it matters
Hammond's vanished depot links the plantation South, the coming of the railroads, and the promise of land to freedpeople after Emancipation — three forces that defined the region's future.
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Related people
- · Dr. Ben F. Hammond
Related events
- · Emancipation
Themes & tags
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