San Diego County: An Old Miners' Town

In 1869, former slave A.E. "Fred" Coleman was watering his horse in a small creek in the mountains East of San Diego when he noticed a glimmer in his periphery. He kneeled down, scooped his hand into the bottom of the stream and realized he had stumbled upon a gold field. Soon thereafter he founded the Coleman Mining District and hundreds of families rushed to the area to stake their claim. They lived in the nearby town of Julian.

Miners outside Julian c.1900 (photo courtesy of: Julian Town Hall)

Today, this quaint city is designated as a California Historical Landmark. It has one main road which runs less than a quarter mile. All the businesses are mom and pops situated in the same 1800s log cabins built when the city was founded. Every establishment has a brass placard on the outside of the building indicating its history. The Julian Pioneer Museum was previously home to a blacksmith shop, one of the clothing boutiques is in an old stage coach stop and the record store was once a pump house for a hand-dug well.

In addition to the charming aesthetic and friendly residents, Julian is famous for its apples.

photo courtesy of: Julian Town Hall

About every fourth or fifth shop makes pie, cookies, bread, muffins, jam and hard cider. Mouth-watering smells of butter and cinnamon blow out of ovens and into the air that swirls through downtown.

A piece of Caramel Dutch from the Julian Pie Company

The 21st century feels like a world away. People walk more slowly, smile more frequently and talk more quietly.

The Julian Pie Company

Dale Strong and his wife moved to Julian over twenty years ago to get away from the fast-pace of the city. "Most of the people that live here want privacy, but also want a community they can be a part of," he said.

The town has less than 2,000 residents and most work together in the apple industry. It's an eye-opening peek into a life many associate with the pre-industrial age; a time when people built their lives around their homes, family, friends and lovers were also neighbors and people had no where to be but where they are.