Julesburg, Colorado

A Brief History of Julesburg

Julesburg’s name links four successive settlements along the South Platte River. Jules Beni’s trading post became a stage station and Colorado’s only Pony Express home station in 1860–1861. The original settlement burned in February 1865 during attacks following the Sand Creek Massacre. A second site developed farther east; in 1867, residents moved north of the river to a third site beside the advancing transcontinental railroad. That boom faded when construction moved west. A railroad branch opened in 1881 near the fourth site, where modern Julesburg developed. The incorporated town preserves this transportation heritage through local museums and the South Platte River Trail.