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   About the Station
 more...>Research Stations>Hammond>About the Station>

A Brief History of the Hammond Research Station

Retention pond and landscape beds
Welcome to the Hammond Research Station!

This station was established as the Fruit and Truck Experiment Station in January 1922 to provide research for strawberry and truck-crop farmers. The Tangipahoa Parish Police Jury purchased the land from Ivy Byron Bankston at the request of the Hammond Chamber of Commerce. A tax (levied in two wards of Tangipahoa Parish specifically for the establishment of an agricultural experiment station) provided funds to purchase the land, which was then leased to Louisiana State University.
 
This station was the fourth to be established in Louisiana. Located approximately 6 miles east of Hammond in Tangipahoa Parish, the station consists of 140 acres.

In 1922, Boleslaus "Bill" Szymoniak was appointed superintendent and began the first research projects on strawberries and truck crops. After Szymoniak became ill,  Walter F. "Hody" Wilson Jr. was named superintendent in 1936 and remained in this position until 1975
Yellow house with flag
Southern Homestead Garden
.  Wilson's primary interest was camellias, and he was responsible for the extensive plantings on the station. After Wilson's retirement, Dr. Bunnie W. Wascom was named superintendent in July 1975. During Dr. Wascom's time at the station, chemical weed control and turfgrass studies were added to the research program. In April 1979, the station name was changed to the Southeast Horticultural Research Station.

After Dr. Wascom's death in May of 1980, Dr. William L. Brown served as acting superintendent until the appointment of Dr. Roysell J. Constantin in August of 1980. In April 1983, the name of the station was changed to the Hammond Research Station. In 2001,&n
Visitor with towering camellia shrub
Visitor with towering camellia
bsp;the Hammond Research Station became part of the AgCenter's Southeast Region.

Dr. Constantin retired in July of 2003, and Dr. Regina Bracy became resident coordinator. Also at this time, the faculty on the station were given joint appointments in research and extension, thus expanding the role of the station to research and education. Under Dr. Bracy's guidance, the station has become a center for landscape horticulture.

Posted on: 4/25/2005 9:48:12 AM

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