Green’s Dictionary of Slang

one’s home territory, one’s area of operation; occas. in pl.

[1831		Eve Post (NY) 18 Mar. 2/4: A parcel of young men went to the house of Mr Tiffee, in the neighborhood of the Stamping Ground].
1836		Carroll Free Press (Carrollton, OH) 19 Feb. 1/3: He [...] bought a flat-boat load of corn and took it up to [...] his old stamping ground.
1846		N.Y. Dly Herald 13 Apr. 2/5: Above is their stamping ground, which they do not wish to be made too familiar to the pale face.
1851		‘How Sally Hooter Got Snake-Bit’ in T.A. Burke Polly Peablossom’s Wedding 68: Jist wait er minut till you’ve hearn ’bout the snakes what flourishes up ’bout my stompin’ ground.
1859		Calif. Police Gazette 16 Jan. 3/3: Morris then revisited his old stamping-ground in this city.
1864		Chicago Trib. 28 Nov. 2/2: The gains in Logan’s old stamping ground were perfectly enormous.
1873		J. O’Connor Wanderings of a Vagabond 111: The gambling-rooms of Richmond, as I said before, were the peculiar ‘stamping-ground’ of these gentry, during their leisure hours.
1889		S. Bailey Ups and Downs of a Crook’s Life 79: He didn’t care to be seen around his old stamping ground.
1890		Bulletin (Sydney) 30 Aug. 21/3: Did you ever take ‘the wallaby’ along some dreary track / With that hideous malformation, called a swag, upon your back? / Did you ever seek a billet on the squatters’ stamping-ground / Where wide bare plains are ’neath you and the burning sun all round?
1903		D.S. Crumb ‘Dialect of Southeastern Missouri’ in DN II:v 331: stamping-ground, n. Place of resort. ‘My old stamping- ground was in Buncombe county, North Carolina.’.
1938		M. Rand ‘Clip-Joint Chisellers’ in Ten Story Gang Aug. 🌐 He spent [time] in Dale’s gymnasium [...] It was a part of his old stamping grounds.
1949		Amer. Cattle Producer Apr. 14/1: If one of these old-timers could return to his old stomping grounds it would be interesting to hear his comments [DA].
1963		(con. 1944) L. Glassop Rats in New Guinea 202: ‘Haven’t I seen you at Romano’s?’ [...] ‘You probably have. A favourite stamping ground of mine.’.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Pimp 222: Switch your whores to new stomping grounds.
1983		R. Aven-Bray Ridgey-Didge Oz Jack Lang 10: Balmain was one of his old stamping grounds and his old chinas might be still around throwing down a pig’s ear or three.
1998		I. Welsh Filth 302: I’ve got an urgent appointment at [...] the old stomping ground, in a couple of hours’ time.
2012		E. Kurtz ‘In the Neighborhood’ in ThugLit Dec. [ebook] The west side of I-5 was a good deal more upscale than our stomping grounds.