Julian City

Fred Coleman found the gold, and the bronze does not say so. He was formerly enslaved, a cattle herder who had worked the northern gold fields, and he saw flecks in a creek while watering his horse in the winter of 1869. Eight hundred prospectors came within weeks. They named the mining district for him and elected him its recorder. Bailey found quartz gold two months later and the town took the name of his Georgia cousin. Coleman Creek runs hidden under brambles now.

What the plaque says

Julian City March 1870 Following the discovery of gold nearby during the winter of 1869-70, this valley became the commercial and social center of a thriving mining district. Ex-Confederate soldier Drury D. Bailey laid out the town on his farmland and named it for his cousin and fellow native of Georgia, Michael S. Julian. By 1906 most mines were unprofitable. Since then the area has become more famous for the variety and quality of its apple crop. California Registered Historical Landmark No. 412 Originally registered November 15, 1948. Plaque placed by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Julian Chamber of Commerce and Squibob Chapter, E Clampus Vitus. September 27, 1986.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Anza-Borrego Desert State Park — 17 mi
  Six hundred thousand acres of badlands, slot canyons, and palm oases, and the biggest state park in California.
• Borrego Springs — 19 mi
  A dark-sky town ringed by state park, with 130 metal beasts loose in the desert around it.

More markers nearby

• Chapel of Santa Ysabel (Site of) — 5.7 mi
• Pedro Fages Trail — 6.8 mi
• San Felipe Valley and Stage Station — 7.0 mi
• Box Canyon — 10 mi