Our Humble Beginnings
Our story begins in 1974, when James C. Hamilton built a walnut hulling line and dehydrator. No plant of its kind ran faster, smoother, or moved more volume in the state of California. With the walnut industry booming it wasn’t long that a second line was needed to keep up with the demand.
In the mid 1980’s, Hamilton noticed another opportunity coming into California-- pecans. Pecans are grown, harvested, and dried much like a walnut. Eager to build and develop, Hamilton designed a pecan line for the dehydrator.
A couple years later Hamilton built a pecan processing plant to further process the pecans by cracking, separating and boxing the commodity for consumer purchase and thus started the Hamilton Ranches name.
In 1997 while on vacation in Jackson Hole, WY Hamilton met a young and bright-eyed thirteen year-old by the name of Blake Houston. Houston, being an old soul, found himself in deep conversations with Hamilton about agriculture and various other topics. It was this special meeting that sparked a lifetime of friendship between the two.
Fifteen years down the road in 2012, Hamilton discovered that Houston was employed through another agriculture business. By this time Houston was a graduate of California State University of Fresno and had earned a business degree with an emphasis in entrepreneurship. Hamilton approached Houston to develop the Hamilton Ranches website and market the pecans. Hamilton was impressed with Houston’s work and hired him to be the assistant foreman for the ranches as well as run the pecan plant while continuing to market the Hamilton Ranches pecan.
In a short time Houston had proved that he was qualified and Hamilton proposed the opportunity to become partners in the pecan business. They decided to join forces and create HNH Nut Company and expand the business to new levels.
Today HNH is the leader in distributing California pecans into bakeries, restaurants, and the hospitality industry. HNH Nuts is a global brand that is shipped into over 15 countries, and continues to earn its reputation as a high quality supplier of pecans.
Our story began a long time ago, but through tradition and commitment we hope our story continues to grow and new chapters are added for generations.
Pecan Recipes
If you don’t mind us telling you what to eat (and how) you can check out our favorite recipes with pecans right here.
Our Pecans
We’re purely pecans. Find out why we love this nut, and how we maintain the highest quality CA pecan around!
Grow For Us
We aim to maintain an integrity-filled relationship with our farmers. After all, they’re responsible for the production of our favorite crop: pecans.