Hundreds of thousands of people bound for the giant sequoias speed past the old Pogue Hotel in Lemon Cove every year, never realizing that the handsome green and yellow two-story building, now home to the Lemon Cove Women’s Club, was once an important stopping place on the road from the Valley to the mountains.

     This enduring edifice was constructed in 1879 to offer dining and lodging to teamsters, tourists, and commercial travelers at the spot where the stage to the Kaweah Colony and Mineral King changed from horses to mules for the long, hard pull uphill. It has stood ever since as a witness to much of Tulare County’s history.

     Originally called “The Cottonwoods,” for its surrounding grove of trees, the hotel was built by a partnership of J.B. Wallace and C. W. Crocker of San Francisco, and James William Center Pogue as on-site superintendent. The three men bought about 9,000 acres of ranch land together in the 1870s on which to farm and grow livestock to supply the Mineral King silver rush, which began in 1873. The partners raised sheep, cattle, and grain, and also accommodated travelers in the 13-room hotel, which the J.W.C. Pogue family lived in and operated.

     In 1881, J.B. Wallace died, and his widow took her one-third share of the partnership as the Wallace Ranch. J.W.C. Pogue purchased C.W. Crocker’s share and became sole owner of the other 6,000 acres and the busy hotel, which had become a popular gathering place.

     Pogue was a visionary. He had come to California in a wagon train in 1857, married Nancy Melvina Blair, the wagon master’s daughter, in 1859, and then moved with her to Tulare County in 1862. He served two terms as a Tulare County supervisor, pioneered the citrus industry in the area, and introduced the cultivation of lemons to Tulare County. And he developed the town of Lemon Cove.

     The very first few orange trees were planted in Tulare County in the 1860s; the county assessor recorded a total of 100 in 1870, including some being grown by Pogue. By 1877, he had established about 20 trees, which he replanted from his ranch to near the hotel, adding some limes, oranges, and lemons.

     All thrived, even though no one else thought lemons could succeed so far north. In the sheltering cove of the hills, watered from irrigation ditches he’d built, they grew so well that Pogue’s lemons won a blue ribbon at the Los Angeles Fair in 1885. By 1904, Pogue had 75 acres of citrus, and others had formed enterprises such as the Kaweah Lemon Company, the Ohio Lemon Company, and the Lemon Cove Citrus Company, planting hundreds of acres around Lemon Cove in the fruits that were to become a billion dollar citrus industry in Tulare County.

     The town of Lemon Cove began in 1894, when Pogue laid out 48 lots on 15 acres of his family’s ranch, centered on the bustling hotel. By the early 1900s, Lemon Cove had a population of 500. A store, a post office, a school, a church, a blacksmith shop, a livery stable and stage depot, and several other businesses, including, of course, the Pogue Hotel, served residents and the many travelers on the main road from Visalia to Three Rivers, Sequoia National Park, and Mineral King.

     In 1891, Pogue’s wife, Nancy, died. From 1898-1904, the hotel was operated as a rooming house by Pogue’s oldest child, Mrs. Martha Louisa (Lydia) Pogue Moffett, and her husband, who leased it and a blacksmith shop from Pogue. In 1904, Pogue gave the hotel to Nora Alice Pogue, the youngest of his nine children. Nora had been born in the building, and now was marrying Dr. Robert Bruce Montgomery, Lemon Cove’s first resident physician and justice of the peace. The young couple turned the hotel into their home, and Pogue lived his last three years with them and died there in 1907.

     In 1920, the Montgomery family moved from their hotel-turned-private-home to a new house built on their ranch. Nora continued to be active in community affairs and in 1924 became a founding member of the Lemon Cove Community Club, organized to promote friendships and community service.

     The distinguished old hotel stood empty until the 1930s, when local residents became increasingly aware of its historical and social importance to their town. In 1934, Jonathan Early Pogue, J.W.C. Pogue’s son, remodeled the structure to become a community center. In 1936, the Community Club officially chartered itself as the Lemon Cove Woman’s Club and voted to assume the debt of the building; Nora Pogue Montgomery gave the club the use of the remodeled house and its quarter acre of land, but stipulated in the deed that if the club ever ceased to use the property, it would revert to the Pogue heirs.

     Today, 80 years later, the Woman’s (now “Women’s”) Club is as active as ever in its gracious, lovingly maintained home. The members meet there and host a number of special events annually, with several open to the public. They also collect and preserve local artifacts and memorabilia, many of which are on display in the clubhouse.

     In 1976, the club voted to work on making their building a historical landmark. Pogue’s grand-daughter Marion Pogue Polly chaired their two successful campaigns. In 1977, the Tulare County Historical Society placed a Historical Marker on the lawn, recognizing the importance of the Pogue Hotel and the Pogue family to the area. In 1991, the Pogue Hotel gained listing on the National Register of Historic Places, noted for its distinctive Late Victorian architecture, and because “The Pogue Hotel/residence forms a tangible link with the central themes of the history of Lemoncove, California. The building has been directly associated with the settlement, development of area agriculture, and the civic and social history of the community.”

     So, next time you’re heading for the hills, don’t just drive by this beautiful building, still surrounded by hundreds of acres of thriving citrus. Pick a day when the clubhouse is open and walk into 135 years of Tulare County history. In December, at the Women’s Club’s annual Christmas Luncheon and Bazaar, you can even stop there just as travelers did on the old wagon road to the mountains back in the 1800s and enjoy eating a meal in the dining room of the fine old Pogue Hotel.

May, 2016

2017 Update:  This beautiful building has now been painted green with yellow trim and doors, replacing the previous yellow-with-brown-trim color palette.  Don’t miss it!