Historic Lemon Grove

Anton and Anna Sonka and their children, late of Bohemia (today, the Czech Republic), landed in San Diego in 1906, heard of a “mercantile opportunity” in a place called Lemon Grove and never looked back. They opened Sonka Bros’ General Merchandise in 1907, the store that kick-started the town’s post agricultural economy on the corner of Main and Pacific Streets. From a ramshackle wooden building, they expanded in 1912 into the Mission Revival store built by local grower-dentist Dr. Charles Good. The Sonkas sold the business to Adelfinger & Roy and it continued as a go-to shopping mecca and bakery into the 21st century.

Sonka Bros' General Merchandise

The whistlestop town known as “a sea of lemon trees” got its symbol in 1928 when architect Alberto Treganza asked local ranchers to bring him their prettiest lemons. Treganza chose the winning model (we still don’t know who raised the winner), designed “The Big Lemon” and worked with volunteer ranchers, led by grower-contractor Edmund J. Dunn, to create the most famous lemon in America. It debuted as a parade float on July 4, 1928 in downtown San Diego and remained a float until 1932 when townsfolk placed it by the railroad tracks near the entrance to town, where it stands today, a testament to a people who just cannot think small.

The Big Lemon

In 1894 the Rev. Isaac Atherton formed the congregational parish. In 1897, at a reported cost of $912, he masterminded construction of a lovely “Folk Victorian” church on Main Street, the First Congregational Church of Lemon Grove. Pioneer families worshipped there. As the town grew, in 1912 the church was moved a block west to become a country club and a larger church was built. In 1996, to make way for the civic park now known as Treganza Heritage Park the church was demolished except for the parsonage which the LGHS rescued for adaptive reuse. This derelict building is now the Parsonage Museum of Lemon Grove, opening it to the public in 1999.

First Congregational Church of Lemon Grove 1897

1897 First Congregational Church

San Diego Hardware was built by Tony Sonka in 1945 on Main Street “because no growing town was complete without a good hardware store.” It was run by John and Elza Sanders until 1966. Their lovely home was due south on Main at Central. Like the Sonkas, the Sanders were part of the civic heartbeat and spent their days within hailing distance of “The Big Lemon.”

Lemon Grove Hardware Co.

Lemon Grove Historical Society Popular Pages & Sections

Lemon Grove Parsonage Museum

Rent the Historic Lee House

Education Outreach

Volunteers and Docents

Support Us – Join Us!

Lemon Grove Historical Society Archives and Preservation

Education Outreach

Events & News

B&W 5 boys at San Diego Highschool in 1918 all wearing facemasks and washing their hands

May 4th History Alive Lecture Series: Retired U.S. Army Master Nurse Donna Lupinacci Presents Comparing Responses to the 1918 & 2022 Pandemics

Helen Ofield

| Feb 25, 2023

| Events

Back by popular demand Donna Lupinacci will reprise her lecture on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic & contrast with the official handling of Covid-19

April 6 History Alive Lecture: Airplane Crash on Japacha Ridge

Helen Ofield

| Jan 18, 2023

| Events

Award winning historian and preservationist Alexander D. Bevil will use historic photographs and maps to reveal a forgotten monument to America’s military aviation history in Cuyamaca Rancho Sate Park’s modern history: the search for missing U.S. Army aviators.

March 2nd History Alive Lecture Series: San Diego County Archives

Helen Ofield

| Jan 17, 2023

| Events

The San Diego County Research Team will discuss how to conduct research using government records at the new San Diego County Archives Facility in Santee

HISTORY ALIVE! Just In Time For the Holidays – The Music of John Doan

Helen Ofield

| Aug 14, 2022

| Events

LGHS rings in the holiday season with the ever popular musician, musicologist, comedian and Emmy nominee John Doan

LGHS Honors Lemon Grove’s Newest Public Mural: The Lemon Grove Incident

Helen Ofield

| Mar 26, 2022

| Events, Latest LGHS News

Mark Lane, CEO, Minority Humanitarian Foundation, organized a superb dedication on March 19, 2022 of the new mural on the wall of 7963 Broadway. The artist, Mario Chacon, was present, along with a who’s who of the Mexican American community in Lemon Grove and environs.

New Special Exhibit at the Parsonage Museum: “The Treganza Family Legacy”

Laura Hook

| Feb 1, 2022

| Events

Come see the newest special exhibit at the Parsonage Museum “The Treganza Family in Lemon Grove,” Opening March 5, 2022

“Your story begins at home…”