Hammond

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History

The first European-descended residents arrived around 1847 to settle on land between the Grand and Little Calumet Rivers, on the south end of Lake Michigan. Those first residents were German immigrant farmers looking for land and opportunity. Before that time, the area was a crossroad for Indian tribes, explorers, stagecoach lines, and supply lines to the West. Convenient location and abundant fresh water from Lake Michigan led to the beginning of Hammond's industrialization in 1869 with the George H. Hammond Company meat-packing plant following merchants and farmers to the area. Hammond was incorporated on April 21, 1884, and was named after the Detroit butcher. Hammond is one of the oldest cities in Lake County, with Crown Point being the oldest (established in 1834). According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, George Henry Hammond, a pioneer in the use of refrigerated railcars for the transport of fresh meat, first used this method with his small packing company in Detroit, Michigan. In 1868, Hammond received a patent for a refrigerator car design. In the early 1870s, he built a new plant in northern Indiana along the tracks of the Michigan Central Railroad. By 1873, the George H. Hammond Co. was selling $1 million worth of meat a year; by 1875, sales were nearly $2 million. The company's large packing house in Hammond rivaled those located at the Union Stock Yard in Chicago. By the middle of the 1880s, when it built a new plant in Omaha, Nebraska, Hammond was slaughtering over 100,000 cattle a year and owned a fleet of 800 refrigerator cars. After Hammond died in 1886, the company became less important and no longer challenged the giant Chicago packers, which acquired Hammond at the turn of the century and merged it into their National Packing Co. The Hammond…

Geography

The city sits within the boundaries of the former Lake Chicago, and much of its land area consists of former dune and swale terrain that was subsequently leveled. Most of the city is on sandy soil with a layer of black topsoil that varies from non-existent to several feet (a meter or more) thick. Much of the exposed sand was removed for purposes such as industrial use to make concrete and glass. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is covered by water. * Robertsdale * North Hammond * Central Hammond * South Hammond * Woodmar * Schleicher * Hessville * Grand Calumet River (partial) * Lake George * Lake Michigan (partial) * Little Calumet River (partial) * Oxbow Lake * Wolf Lake (partial) * Chicago * Burnham * Calumet City * Lansing * Gary * East Chicago * Highland * Munster * Whiting

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Ring-billed Gull

  Larus delawarensis Ord, 1815 · Aves
  21,245
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,797
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  19,302
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  17,337
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  16,275
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  16,036
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,187
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,466

Largest nearby schools

• Hammond Central High School
  High · Hammond · 1,863 students · 19.4:1 ratio
• Morton Senior High School
  High · Hammond · 1,609 students · 18.5:1 ratio
• Munster High School
  High · Munster · 1,564 students · 18.4:1 ratio
• 21st Century Charter Sch of Gary
  Other · Gary · 1,337 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• Gary Lighthouse Charter School
  Other · Gary · 1,127 students · 14.8:1 ratio
• East Chicago Central High School
  High · East Chicago · 1,079 students · 14:1 ratio
• Griffth Jr/Sr High School
  High · Griffith · 1,059 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• West Side Leadership Academy
  High · Gary · 1,013 students · 20.7:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2026-07-08
  21 km ENE of Kenilworth, Illinois
• M 2.9 — 2015-03-25
  3 km WNW of Lake in the Hills, Illinois
• M 3.2 — 2013-11-04
  1 km SSW of Lyons, Illinois
• M 2.6 — 2013-06-10
  4 km NNE of Virgil, Illinois
• M 3.8 — 2010-02-10
  2 km NW of Lily Lake, Illinois