Seniors Enjoy Hammond

Hammond is a city in Lake County, Indiana, and is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. Senior travelers will find Hammond 20 miles south of Chicago. The population runs just over 80,000 and replaces Gary as the most populous city in Lake County. The city sits within the boundaries of the former Lake Chicago.

The city was named for George Henry Hammond, a butcher, who founded the G. H. Hammond Packing and Slaughter House in 1869, which was the area’s first industrial business and one that helped provide well-paying jobs for workers in Hammond and other nearby suburbs. By 1875 sales were almost $2 million.

It’s bordered to the north by Lake Michigan and to the south by the Little Calumet River. The Chicago loop is approximately a half an hour away from Hammond.

 Seniors Stop At The Indiana Welcome Center

Hammond boasts some terrific attractions and entertainment choices for senior visitors, including exhibits at the state of the art Indiana Welcome Center. A Christmas Story Comes Home is the annual holiday exhibit which brings scenes from the film to life, including Santa’s Mountain, where kids can slide down after getting some face time with ol’ St. Nick himself.

Let’s take a drive through downtown Hammond to get a feel for the city. Senior visitors can enjoy a planetarium and laser show at Challenger Learning Center, curated art shows at White Ripple Gallery and live performances at The Towle Community Theater. Educational exhibits, holiday fun, live performances, and casino gaming are only a few of the fun and entertaining things to do in Hammond, Indiana.

The first permanent residents arrived around 1847 to settle on land between the Grand and Little Calumet rivers, on the south end of Lake Michigan. Those first residents were German farmers newly arrived from Europe looking for land and opportunity.

Seniors Enjoy Hammond’s Amenities

Before that time, the area was a crossroad for Indian tribes, explorers, stagecoach lines and supply lines to the West. Convenient location and abundant fresh water from Lake Michigan led to the beginning of Hammond’s industrialization in 1869 with the George H. Hammond Company meat-packing plant following merchants and farmers to the area.

The city hosts a five-day Summer Festival, the Hammond Marina provides opportunities for boating, swimming and fishing, and the Gibson Woods Nature Preserve features hiking trails in woodlands, sand dune areas and wetlands.

 The Hammond Lakefront Park and Bird Sanctuary offers senior visitors the opportunity to see a wide variety of birds during migration. Nearby Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore includes an extensive shoreline on Lake Michigan as well as marsh areas, prairies, forest areas and rivers. It features a vast number of bird species and a variety of wildlife. Enjoy the many amenities the city has to offer visitors. -jeb