Old Julesburg - Julesburg, CO - Colorado Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Due north 1235 feet is the original site of OLD JULESBURG Named for Jules Beni, whose trading post was established at the "upper crossing" of the Platte prior to 1860. Junction of Oregon and Overland Trails. Pony Express station, 1860-61. Overland Stage station, 1859-65. Burned in Indian raid, Feb. 2, 1865. Erected by The State Historical Society of Colorado from The Mrs. J. N. Hall Foundation and by Citizens of Sedgwick County, Colorado 1931

Named after Jules Beni who established a trading post here in the 1850's, Julesburg became a thriving stop along the overland trails. Beni conspired with a band of outlaws and Indians to rob the stage lines that passed through his station. The stage company replaced Beni with a ruthless gunfighter named Jack Slade who ran him out of town. After being ambushed and shot by Beni, Slade recovered and eventually killed his rival, cutting off both ears and keeping one as a souvenir. According to legend, Slade nailed the other ear to a fence post as a warning.

The town was completely destroyed by an Indian raid in January, 1865. Seeking retribution for the Sand Creek Massacre, a band of 1200 warriors rode across the plains and drove the settlers into nearby Fort Rankin (later Fort Sedgwick) where they watched their town burn to the ground.

A second Julesburg was founded the following year but dwindled to nothing when the railroad passed it to the north. In 1867 the third Julesburg boomed as one of the largest towns in Colorado with the arrival of the Union Pacific railroad. It was described as "the wickedest city in the West" due to its population of gunfighters, outlaws, gamblers and prostitutes. This Julesburg too faded away as the population moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming with the railroad. In 1881 the Union Pacific Railroad constructed a Denver branch line 5 miles east at "Denver Junction." The town grew quickly and was renamed Julesburg—the 4th and present town of that name.

Group or Groups Responsible for Placement: Colorado Historical Society Citizens of Sedgwick County County or City: Sedgwick County Date Dedicated: 1931 Check here for Web link(s) for additional information: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
In your log, please say if you learned something new or if you were able to take any extra time to explore the area once you stopped at the historic marker waymark. If possible, please post a photo of you at the marker OR your GPS at the marker location OR some other creative way to prove you visited. If you know of any additional links not already mentioned about this bit of Colorado history, go ahead and include that in your log!

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   05/07/2019 kathyPaul visited it