Cerro San Luis Lemon Grove
San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo County, California
Marker Inscription
Welcome to Cerro San Luis Lemon Grove. This land once belonged to Charles and Rhonda Reed of San Luis Obispo. At the dawn of the 20th Century, Army veteran William G. Chandler became caretaker to the three acre parcel, its livestock, vegetable garden and a thriving lemon grove planted in the 1890s. On August 6, 1901, the San Luis Obispo Morning Tribune reported that Chandler picked 1,600 lemons from the grove that July. Today, the property is owned by the City of San Luis Obispo where it lends its name to the popular "Lemon Grove Loop" hiking trail. Since its original planting, this unique terraced locale has sheltered its trees from harsh weather and front while irrigating it with a naturally occurring spring. In 2014, the Lemon Grove was restored by Leadership SLO Class XXII. The group salvaged two existing trees and planted 20 more saplings as part of its Legacy Project. In addition to clearing brush, a spring box was installed to aid natural irrigation year round. The resiliency of these 22 trees represents the vision Class XXII has for the Central Coast community: to persevere through time with the help of friends. "When life can't give you lemons, plant your own."
The Story
This terraced hillside on Cerro San Luis has grown lemons since the 1890s, sheltered from wind and watered by a natural spring. At the turn of the 20th century an Army veteran, William G. Chandler, tended the small parcel with its livestock, garden, and thriving grove — a local paper once noting he picked 1,600 lemons in a single July. Now city-owned, the restored grove lends its name to a popular hiking loop and was replanted in 2014 by a community leadership class.
Why it matters
It is a small window into the agricultural life of California's Central Coast and how a working grove became a beloved piece of public open space.
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Related people
- · William G. Chandler
Themes & tags
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Cerro San Luis Obispo Lemon Grove
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This land on Cerro San Luis Obispo passed through local hands including Charles and Rhonda Reed, and at the turn of the twentieth century Army veteran William G. Chandler became caretaker of the three-acre parcel and its thriving lemon grove, planted in the 1890s. The story reflects the citrus agriculture that shaped California's Central Coast in the Gilded Age and early modern era. Such groves were the economic backbone of many small California communities.
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