Jefferson Davis Hughes House Bed and Breakfast in Hammond, Louisiana History of House

THE HISTORY OF THE JEFFERSON DAVIS HUGHES BED AND BREAKFAST HOUSE AND COMMUNITY

Jefferson Davis Hughes II built this Queen Ann style house on land once part of his grandfather's, Peter Hammond's (1789-1870) estate.

Photo by Kili Williams
Jefferson Davis Hughes House Bed and Breakfast,
300 North Holly Street, Hammond, Louisiana

Peter Hammond and his descendants, including Jefferson Davis Hughes's mother and father are buried nearby in a quaint neighborhood cemetery under a majestic oak tree just a block away from the Hughes House Bed and Breakfast.

Peter Hammond's Grave, just a block away from the
Hughes House Bed and Breakfast

Mr. Peter Hammond founded the community in 1820, launched a tar and forest products industry, and pioneered shipping those products to New Orleans, as well as making possible the right of way between Hammond and Pass Manchac for the construction of the Illinois Central railroad.

In 1886, the Illinois Central launched a plan to improve its railroad and its service. It rebuilt its entire track by replacing the standard gauge equipment with a newer narrower gauge.

Hugh House Bed and Breakfast Strawberry With these improvements, the Illinois Central was able to attach refrigerated cars to their passenger trains enabling the trains to carry fresh fruit from the South. In 1900, John Heftler, the president of Centralia National Bank sent the first shipment of strawberries from Hammond, Louisiana to Centralia, Illinois using one of the first refrigerator cars attached to passenger trains. Strawberries farming isn't as popular as it was in the early days, but strawberries are still a favorite fruit of Louisianans and the strawberry is celebrated yearly at the Strawberry Festival in Ponchatoula, America's Antique City, just five minutes away from the Jefferson Davis Hughes House Bed and Breakfast.

The City of New Orleans, Amtrak at the Hammond Train Depot, Hammond, LA near the Hughes House Bed and Breakfast

Today you can visit the downtown railroad station just three blocks away from the Hughes House Bed and Breakfast, and take the City of New Orleans, Amtrak's train to New Orleans, Memphis or Chicago.