Auburn Hammond House placed on Placer historic register

One of the historic Hammond houses was placed on Placer County's Register of Cultural and Historic Resources during the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. Kally Kedinger-Cecil, senior planner for Placer County, shared the home, referred to as Hammond House #1, was built in 1927 by Lester Hammond Sr., who learned masonry skills while waiting to come home after serving in World War I, and constructed with railroad ties and later faced with rock. To build the home, located at 460 Old Airport Road in Auburn, Hammond sourced materials from local mines. According to the staff report, the Hammond House features thick rock columns and an archway on the porch and built-in rock planters that flank the windows. The home originally included a low-pitched gable roof until a second story was added in 1980. Kedinger-Cecil noted Hammond constructed a number of homes from Auburn up to Donner Summit, fireplaces and facades. The Hammond House is just one home he constructed in the Old Airport Road neighborhood. "Truly, his architecture and his vision are a legacy throughout the county and bears consideration to be placed on the register," Kedinger-Cecil said. During the meeting, homeowner Dennis Dong shared he and his wife, Patty, did not know the historic significance of the home and it was "a house we could afford at the time." Dong said it was actually their neighbors who told them the home was a Hammond House and it had been featured in Sunset Magazine in 1933. "And from that point on, we knew that we had a little treasure on our hands," Dong said. In the staff report, a snippet from the Sunset Magazine article notes, "In the fireplace ... there are black lava rocks and white quartz from mines in Placer and Nevada counties, blue and white rocks from Black Oak mine and other gathered in the hydraulic channels on Yuba Pass, all matched and blended with the skill of an artisan." The board approved adding the Hammond House to the historic register in a unanimous 4-0 vote. District 1 Supervisor Bonnie Gore was absent. "I fully support it, and hopefully we can get those other three or four homes on the register as well," District 3 Supervisor Jim Holmes said. Kedinger-Cecil confirmed the home's placement on the county's local register does not prohibit the property owner from making alterations to the house, but they will be required to submit building permits to the Museums Department to "ensure that the historical integrity of the structure is maintained." Kedinger-Cecil also shared being on the county's register provides Hammond House with some legitimacy to be placed on a state or federal register in the future. Placer County shared the below video about Hammond House #1: