There was one guy who gave my wife and me a ride back to the PCT trailhead along the Sunrise Highway. Strange, but affable fellow. He claimed he was descended from British Royalty and was kidnapped from Britain as a baby. I got the sense that he was a local eccentric (he seemed to hang out in front of the Chamber of Commerce).
Anybody know the population of Julian?
The Community Plan Area of Julian is located between Volcan Mountain and the Cuyamaca Mountains. State Highway 78 serves as Julian's Main Street and a principle travel route to the desert from metropolitan San Diego which lies 60 miles to the west. The Kumeyaay, the first inhabitants, lived in small, seasonal villages scattered throughout the area to avoid the desert heat of summer. The discovery of gold in late 1860s brought gold-rush fame to these mountains and settlers to the newly-created town of Julian. In 1870, Julian's population was 300 with nearly 1500 people living in the Julian Mining District. However, the rush was short-lived and during the 1880s most of the mines closed. The population of Julian dropped to 100. Although several brief periods of mining revived interest in gold exploration, overall, mining had become too expensive to remain the mainstay of Julian's economy. Mining activities gave way to a variety of business efforts such as brick-making, lumbering, orchard agriculture and grazing. It was also at this time that visitors were drawn to the area by its beauty and Julian became known as a resort as well as a gold-rush town. Population in the Planning Area is approximately 2,800 today and is expected to reach nearly 4000 by the year 2005. When the first Community Plan was prepared in 1976, 1500 people lived in and around Julian. Increases in population have come slowly