Atherton Chapel
The First Congregational Church of Lemon Grove is popularly known as the Atherton Chapel. Pictured outside the original church is the Reverend Hand with his daughter and, to the left, his three little boys.
The Atherton Chapel is one of just three chapels remaining in east county; the others are in Lakeside and Julian and have been handsomely restored by their respective historical societies. It was named for the Rev. Isaac Atherton, the first minister in the town and the prime mover behind the construction of the chapel in 1897 at a cost of just over $900. Rev. Atherton contributed the first $100. Over the century the building became a chapel and Sunday School after a larger church was built in 1908, a parsonage, private home, dance hall and country club.
A century later, in a joint project with the City of Lemon Grove, the Lemon Grove Historical Society launched a $100-a-brick drive to raise funds to restore and renovate the decaying building as The Parsonage Museum of Lemon Grove. The bricks now comprise the charming "Angels' Walk", a central feature of the landscaping that will eventually circle the building.
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