Lemon Grove History

The Early Years A long time ago, the area that is Lemon Grove had no homes, roads, schools, churches, or businesses. Native Americans lived on the land and some of them raised cattle.

Settling Lemon Grove In 1869, Robert Allison, a sheep breeder, bought 4,200 acres and settled in the area that was then known as La Mesa Springs. Later the name was changed to Allison Springs.

The Late 1800’s By 1892 only 76 people lived in Allison Springs. A lot of these people made their money by planting and selling oranges, lemons, limes and strawberries.

Troxell Ranch 1892

Assignment On a piece of paper answer the following questions. Make sure you use complete sentences to answer the questions. 1.What animal did the Native Americans raise? 2.What was the name of the first settler? 3.What did the people in Allison Springs grow?

The Late 1800’s In 1892 the first store was built by a man named M.P. Bond. In 1895 the first church was built. They also had a “school”, but it was only one room and it was in someone’s barn!

The Late 1800’s The first trolley station was built in 1895 and the new station was built in 1986 (almost 100 years later).

The Original Trolley Station

The New Trolley Station

Traveling The only way to get to San Diego from Lemon Grove was to ride a horse, or go in a horse and buggy. The road they used was all dirt then, but now it is Highway 94!

Test what you know about Lemon Grove history by completing this crossword puzzle.crossword

Assignment 4. Who built the first store? 5. What year was the first church built? 6. What year was the trolley station built? 7. What year was the new trolley station built? 8. What road did people use to go to San Diego?

The First Schools The first Lemon Grove school was built in It was located on the corner of Main and Central streets. The school had 4 teachers and served 60 students (that’s the size of two 4 th grade classes)!

The First Schools In 1924 a new school was built. It was on the same land that Golden Avenue Elementary and Lemon Grove Middle School are on now. When it got old it was torn down and the two new schools were built.

Lemon Grove School

The Turn of the Century By 1920 the town also had a school, a library, a post office, a clubhouse, and another store. People began planting more fruits and vegetables and some of them started raising chickens.

The Turn of the Century By 1925 the population had grown to 800. The town also had a newspaper.

Lemon Grove Float 1919

The 1930’s Allison Springs was growing. By 1930 over 1,500 people lived there. They grew most of the lemons and tomatoes for the entire United States. The produce was shipped to other states on the railroad.

Lemon Grove Fruit Growers Many people were part of the Lemon Grove Fruit Growers Association.

Let’s try another crossword puzzle.crossword

Lemon Grove School 1935

1940’s Many families started to move to Allison Springs. They liked the area because they could grow food and keep animals like horses, rabbits, and chickens. The First National Bank was started in 1949.

The 1950’s There were now 216 businesses. There were grocery stores, restaurants, and two theaters. One of the town’s leaders, Mr. Sonka, gave the town its slogan, “BEST CLIMATE ON EARTH”.

Assignment How many students went to the first school? In what year was the population of Allison Springs 800? What business was started in 1949? Who said Lemon Grove has the greatest climate on earth?

The 1960’s and 1970’s By 1970 over 23,000 people lived in the area. On July 1, 1977 the communities of La Mesa Spring, Allison Springs, and Lemon Grove became the City of Lemon Grove.

Assignment In what year did the area become the City of Lemon Grove?

The Famous Lemon Lemon Grove does not claim this is the World's Largest Lemon. We don't know if it's really the largest.

Assignment Pretend you are over 100 years old! Imagine living in Lemon Grove in the early days (about 100 years ago). You would not have cars, stores, televisions, electronic games, or many other luxuries that you have today. Write an amazing adventure story about a day in your life. Start with waking up and tell me how you would spend your day. Include what activities you would spend your time on, what food you would eat (remember there would be

Assignment no fast-food restaurants or 7-Elevens), what work you would have to do, and what your day at school would be like. Be sure to include some exciting details to make this a truly “AMAZING ADVENTURE”. This assignment should be at least 2 paragraphs long. When you finish your writing assignment get a piece of white art paper from me and draw a picture to go along with your story.