[4] Atherton became a teacher at the New Mexico Military Institute, Roswell, NM (1928–1929), moving onto become an instructor at St. Joseph Junior College, St. Joseph (1930–1931), followed by five years at Wentworth Military Academy Junior College, Lexington, Missouri (1931–1936).
[8] One of Atherton's most recognized works, "Main Street on the Middle Border" was published in 1954 by Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
[22][23] He is also credited for his advisory role in the TV production of "Daniel Boone in America's Story".
Each of the four locations offer different historical material; the WHMC in Kansas City, specializes in the history and culture of Kansas City;[26] the WHMC collection located at the Missouri University of Science and Technology features material concerning the Ozark highland and southern Missouri;[27] and likewise, the WHMC office in St. Louis focuses on collecting material relating to the history of St. Louis and its surrounding region.
[28] The WHMC location in Columbia, Missouri, specializes on the history of the state from prior its establishment to the present, as well as, "the trans-Mississippi West: social and cultural, religious and educational, military and political, economic and legal, business and labor, urban and rural, ethnic, environmental, and many others.
"[29] The Columbia collection consists in part of diaries, letters, photographs, and other material, of Missourians ranging from farmers, bankers, and frontier pioneers.
The manuscripts and collection of the Western Historical Manuscript Collection can be accessed at the Society's Research Center located in Ellis Library and at Society research centers in Kansas City, St. Louis, Rolla, Cape Girardeau, and Springfield.
He was father to three children: Richard F. (d. 1935), and two adopted daughters, Mary Ann (d.1965) and Barbara Lee (d. 1984).
Both Lewis and his wife Mary (whom he referred to as Louise) and their daughter set up a number of endowments for educational benefit.
[30] Atherton was also an active researcher of his own family history; this legacy was donated to the University of Missouri.