He developed a plantation to cultivate trees, which he made into masts, charcoal, and other products for the maritime industry in New Orleans.

Toward the end of the war, Cate laid out the town's grid, using the rail line as a guide and naming several of the streets after his sons.

By the end of the 19th century, Hammond had become a stopping point for northern rail passengers traveling south and for New Orleanians heading north to escape seasonal summer yellow fever outbreaks.

[9] In the 1920s, David William Thomas edited a weekly newspaper in Hammond prior to moving to Minden, the seat of Webster Parish.

In 1932, Hodding Carter founded the Hammond Daily Courier, which he left in 1939 to move to Greenville, Mississippi.

About 15 mi (24 km) south of the city, on both the railroad and I–55, lies Port Manchac, which provides egress via Lake Pontchartrain to the Gulf of Mexico.

Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond offers the state's only academic degree in supply chain management.

He was chief architect of the Tangipahoa Parish School Board for some two decades before he relocated to Baton Rouge.

Southeastern took over the Columbia Theatre in the designated Hammond Historic District to use as a downtown cultural venue.

It dropped more than 12 inches (300 mm) of rain, and caused severe flash flooding, and significant wind damage.

In this respect, Hammond ranks among the bottom 25 cities nationally and is comparable to Salem, Oregon, and Tucson, Arizona.

Chappapeela Sports Park hosts American football, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer, softball and volleyball.

In addition to youth recreational sports and camps, there are adult flag football, basketball, kickball, and volleyball leagues.

[23] Hammond is overlapped[clarification needed] by most of the mass media in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, although over-the-air television reception is available.

Both the southbound and northbound daily City of New Orleans schedules have afternoon stops in Hammond, so Amtrak Superliner trains are a common sight.

The largest unit of the Louisiana Army National Guard is stationed at Hammond, adjacent to the site.

The airport has no regularly scheduled passenger service but is convenient for charter flights and corporate aviation purposes.