Mountain Farming – Tribune, August 1, 1901
Lemon and Orange Blossoms Gather Their Fragrance From the Top of San Luis Peak.
History tells us that the armies of the nation have fought battles upon the mountains. There is an old soldier in San Luis Obispo county who is making a success of farming upon the mountain top. It will not be denied that G.W. Chandler is higher up in the art of agriculture than most people in this neck of the woods. He looks out of his little cabin high on San Luis mountain and rejoices in a habitation fully eight hundred feet above the rest of his fellow citizens, where frosts are unknown and the gentle zephyra of the valley fan his brow.
Mr. Chandler is in charge of the Reed place which consists of three acres of lemon and orange trees, chiefly lemon, with a few other trees. The lemon trees are in a flourishing condition and it is doubtful if the semi-tropic regions of the southern orange belt can boast of a better lemon grove and a more profitable one than this tract. The oldest of the trees have been growing for seven years, while many of them that are now heavily laden with fruit, have only been out for three or four years.
About the middle of July Mr. Chandler picked 1600 lemons and this month he has picked over 500 and the coming week he will pick 600 more. Lemons are a staple article this year in the eastern states where the immense heat has made the "ice man" and the lemonade man the most popular individuals in all creation. From on four old tree 140 lemons have been picked this year and there are still more upon it. From another 114 lemons were picked, and so on through the whole orchard the trees have yielded their valuable product in like proportion. The fruit is of the very finest quality, both as regards size and flavor. Many of them run as high as two ounces in weight and when fully ripened are models of beauty and well worthy to bid for the highest premiums at a Worlds Fair. The sunny clime of the Mediterranean could not produce a more choice fruit that that which grows on the heights above this city. In another year the product of the grove will be very large.
This three acre tract of land is well watered by means of pipes. The water which is the purest that Nature affords, comes from the mountain sides. None of it is allowed to go to waste and every day Mr. Chandler turns it upon the various portions of the tract.
In addition to the lemons, Mr. Chandler has a vegetable garden which would make the almond eyed Celestial turn green with envy. He raises beets, beans, carrots, turnips, melons, (the small boy is warned to keep away) cucumbers, pumpkins, onions, tomatoes, peppers, etc.
During the present season Mr. Chandler has sold a large quantity of strawberries and blackberries. He takes particular pride in his McKinley strawberries, which are of large size and very fine flavor. He has one Japanese plum tree, a chestnut tree, some peach and pear trees, one banana plant and an almond tree. The latter is full of nuts. Two cows, a horse, a dog, a cat and one hundred chickens make up the rest of this mountain farm.
Mr. Chandler feels proud of his collection and is always ready to show the visitor around. He rejoices in the fact that frost is unknown as his habitation. Last March when it was quite cold in this city, he left his place without a coat to come down town, but he had to borrow one when he got down off of the hill side.
I found a G.W. Chandler in a Civil War 1862 roster at Alabama's Talladega Camp of Instruction: "Talladega was one of two camps of instruction established in Alabama for collecting recruits. The Confederacy was faced with a serious manpower shortage in the winter of 1862, and Congress determined on a compulsory military service law which went into effect in April 1862. Most men between the ages of 18 and 35 would be obliged to enroll, with exceptions for certain professions and other situations. Talladega and Notasulga were selected as camp sites to collect recruits, which had been volunteers up to this time. Enrolling officers in each county collected men and took them to camp, where they were enrolled and eventually assigned to a front-line unit. "
Here is a postcard from 1890:
The extent of the grove is seen in the next photo dated 1900. The homes in this photo were gone by the 1960s. This photo is in the San Luis Museum archives:
Next photo taken circa 1950:
