A Brief History of Hammond Ranch

In the late 1960s, John Engvald and Richard Ramsey purchased and subdivided (by parcel map) the part of the old ranch owned by Dwight Hammond and his family, commonly known as Hammond Ranch.

This development was seen by the owners as a high-class, planned community.  It was promoted to potential buyers with airplane trips via a landing field in the meadows north of the Ranch and with bathing beauties in bikinis on water skies gliding over the reservoir waters.  Also advertised was a ski resort on Mt. Eddy to the southwest, complete with ski lifts and runs by which landowners could “ski right to their door.” 

The Hammond Lake Association was formed in 1969 and was to own, manage, maintain, preserve and control the entire Ranch area.  However, Engvald and Ramsey had not made association membership mandatory nor deeded ownership of anything, including Hammond agricultural reservoir land, to the Association.  They could not deed rights to the water in the reservoir since the water rights were and still are held by landowners to the north in the Shasta Valley.

Ernie Fuller was the first Ranch resident, living in a trailer below the area known as Long Meadow nine months of the year.  He was named caretaker in November of 1974.

Cattle grazing was allowed on the ranch for many years.  The cattleman involved most often was Richie Morgan of Montague.  That arrangement, based on the designation of the County as “open range,” continued into the 1980s, when residency on the Ranch reached the point that cattle no longer had enough room.

Power came to the more easily accessible areas of the Ranch in 1982.  The section of North Old Stage Road between the railroad tracks to the south and College Avenue to the north was paved in 1983.  The Association changed its name from Hammond Lake Association to Hammond Landowners Association in 1986.

Membership in the Hammond Landowners Association

There are many reasons for landowners to become members of the Hammond Landowners Association.  Besides getting to know your neighbors and participating in Hammond Ranch issues, a few important reasons are:

• The HLA members negotiate with the County for needed improvements and support for Hammond Ranch. 
• The HLA members promote the maintenance of our roads by coordinating upgrades and by reimbursing road maintenance costs according to a prescribed schedule established by the HLA Board.
•  The HLA now has a website that is helping to inform residents of issues related to the Ranch.
• HLA members are eligible to purchase PHI (Mercy Air) emergency medical evacuation services at a discounted rate.
• The HLA publishes a quarterly newsletter informing residents of important issues.  Frequently included in the newsletter are articles from our volunteer fire chief on how to minimize the risk of fire, what causes fire, what to do and not do.
• HLA members are working with our road committees and volunteer fire department as well as the County and local Fire Safe Councils.
• Annual luncheon meeting in November each year.
• Annual picnic in July each year.

Click here for the 2012 Hammond Landowners Association Membership Application.  To become a member, landowners should complete the application's proxy and identification sections and return it to Hammond Landowners Association, Inc., P.O. Box 795, Mount Shasta, CA  96067 with your dues of $55.00 for the year.  Please join us in our efforts.  The more members in the HLA, the better we will make our community. 

                                                 Hammond Landowners Association Board of Directors