Squint your eyes in Julian, California, and it’s easy to imagine this western town as it was in the 19th century. Historic wood-sided buildings with metal awnings abound in this quaint town tucked into the rolling hills of San Diego County’s far reaches. In fact, it’s a living history town, with a walking-tour map that includes plenty of reminders of simpler days.
Encompassing just 7.8 square miles, Julian sprang up as a small gold-mining town for a short time in the late 1800s. In 1873, a settler named James Madison had the foresight to plant apple trees around the town, due to the area’s 4,000-foot elevation and temperate climate. Gold mining wound down around 1900, but high yields of apples put Julian on the map as an “apple town.” Soon, it was regionally famous for its bakeries, which sold apple pies.
