Julesburg

History

The original trading post was named for Jules Beni. Julesburg was on the Pony Express (1860–1861) route from Missouri to California. In 1858, Joseph A. "Jack" Slade, a superintendent for the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company, was tracking down horse thieves, including Jules Beni. Slade caught up with him at Julesburg, but Beni shot him five times. Thinking that Slade was dead, several angry townsfolk chased Beni out of Julesburg. When they returned, they found Slade struggling to his feet, having miraculously survived. Beni continued to steal horses from the Pike's Peak Express Company, and Slade vowed to hunt him down. Beni attempted to ambush Slade at Slade's own ranch at Cold Springs. But Slade found out about the planned ambush and, along with some of his cowboys, captured Beni. Slade did not take Beni to authorities but instead shot him dead while he was tied to a fence post. He shot off each of Beni's fingers, then put the gun in Beni's mouth and pulled the trigger. Afterward, he severed Beni's ears as trophies. Julesburg was a large and prominent stagecoach station and the site of Fort Rankin (later Fort Sedgwick). In revenge for the Sand Creek Massacre, one thousand Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Lakota warriors attacked Julesburg on January 7, 1865. In the battle the Indians defeated about 60 soldiers of the U.S. Army and 50 armed civilians. In the following weeks the Indians raided up and down the South Platte River valley. On February 2 they returned to Julesburg and burned down all the buildings in the settlement, although not attacking the soldiers and civilians holed up in the fort. At the time, the town was said to have had over 1000 buildings. In 1867, during the building of the Union Pacific transcontinental railroad, Julesburg…

Geography

Julesburg is located at (40.988422, −102.266677). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land. The town is located on the north side of the South Platte River, along U.S. 138 and U.S. 385 and just off of I-76. It is the northernmost town in the state, less than south of the Colorado−Nebraska state line. Julesburg has a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with cold, dry winters and hot, wetter summers.

Race & ethnicity