

Julian: Apple pie and the Old West bring visitors to this mountain town

SAN DIEGO, CA.-March 9, 2016: Crystal clear air and colorful skies in Julian after the weekend storm
SAN DIEGO, CA.-March 9, 2016: Crystal clear air and colorful skies in Julian after the weekend storms dropped a light snowfall that has melted away. JOHN GIBBINS / San Diego Union-Tribune)
(John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune)

History: Drue Bailey, an ex-Confederate soldier tired of wandering the West, homesteaded here in 1869. When gold was discovered, Bailey had a surveyor lay out a town site, and lots were given to anyone who promised to build. During the gold boom, from 1869 to 1879, the town had four general stores, six hotels, two stage lines to San Diego and a dozen saloons. It was apples that saved Julian from becoming a ghost town after the mines went bust. James Madison and Thomas Brady are credited with planting the first orchards in the early 1870s.


How it got its name: Bailey named the town after his cousin, miner Mike Julian, also the town’s first recorder.

Landmarks: The Julian Hotel, a national historic landmark built by a former slave, Albert Robinson, and his wife, Margaret, in the 1890s, is the centerpiece of the historical district. At 5,300-feet, nearby Volcan Mountain offers spectacular views from the coast to the desert.

Things to do: The first Apple Days were celebrated in 1909 after a Julian apple received a Wilder medal, the highest award given by the American Pomological Society. The event celebrates the fruit and the town’s history each fall. But there’s more to Julian than apple pies. Tours at the Eagle Mining Co. provide a glimpse of the gold rush days, and the California Wolf Center offers encounters with the gray wolf.

Notable locals: In 1869, A.E. “Fred” Coleman, a former slave, discovered gold in what is now Coleman Creek. Architect and artist James Hubbell lives in nearby Santa Ysabel.


San Diego’s community almanac presented by the San Diego Union-Tribune