Dr. Ben F. Hammond moved here from Alabama in 1853 and built a plantation home about a mile to the west. His neighbors included James Love and Robert S. McCall. After he granted right-of-way through his land in 1869, Hammond Depot and Post Office opened at this point on the Houston & Texas Central Railroad. A few stores stood near the depot, which planters used for shipping. As the railroad declined, the town vanished by 1950. Most area residents are descendants of people given land at emancipation in 1865 by Dr. Hammond and other planters.