Julesburg, Colorado
Encyclopedia
The historic town of Julesburg is a statutory town that is the county seat
of Sedgwick County
, Colorado
, United States
. The town is located on the north side of the South Platte River
. The population was 1,467 at the U.S. Census 2000. It is the northernmost town in the state, located less than a mile south of the Nebraska
border.
According to the Colorado Historical Society, the original trading post was named for Jules Beni. Julesburg was featured in the 1960 episode "The Story of Julesburg" of the syndicated
television series Pony Express
(1959–1960). James Best
and Sebastian Cabot
guest starred in the segment. Julesburg was on the Pony Express
(1860–1861) route from Missouri
to California
.
The second episode (1955) of the ABC
western Cheyenne
, starring Clint Walker
, is entitled "Julesburg". In the story line, Julesburg is depicted as under the control of a ruthless cattle baron played by Ray Teal
, later cast as the sheriff
in the NBC
series Bonanza
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 1,467 people, 613 households, and 407 families residing in the town. The population density
was 1,167.6 people per square mile (449.5/km²). There were 699 housing units at an average density of 556.4 per square mile (214.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 89.03% White, 0.20% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 7.77% from other races
, and 2.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.18% of the population.
There were 613 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples
living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 24.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $28,207, and the median income for a family was $34,500. Males had a median income of $27,337 versus $17,125 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $14,913. About 8.1% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
BSk) with cold, dry winters and hot, wetter summers.
, was tracking down horse
thieves, including Jules Beni. Slade caught up with him at Julesburg, but Beni shot him five times. Everybody thought that Slade was dead and several angry townsfolk chased Beni out of Julesburg. When they returned, they found Slade struggling to his feet, having miraculously recovered.
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 his fingers, and then put the gun in Beni's mouth and pulled the trigger. Afterward, he severed Beni's ears as trophies.
This account is among the Stories of the Century
, a syndicated television series starring and narrated by Jim Davis
, which aired on March 4, 1955. Gregg Palmer
(born 1927) played the role of Slade, and Paul Newlan
(1903–1973) portrayed Beni.
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Sedgwick County
Sedgwick County, Colorado
Sedgwick County is the northeasternmost of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county was named for Fort Sedgwick, a military post along the Platte Trail, which was named for General John Sedgwick. The county population was 2,379 at U.S. 2010 Census...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The town is located on the north side of the South Platte River
South Platte River
The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/Mountain West, located in the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska...
. The population was 1,467 at the U.S. Census 2000. It is the northernmost town in the state, located less than a mile south of the Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
border.
According to the Colorado Historical Society, the original trading post was named for Jules Beni. Julesburg was featured in the 1960 episode "The Story of Julesburg" of the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
television series Pony Express
Pony Express (TV series)
Pony Express is a half-hour syndicated western television series which ended its 39-episode schedule in 1960, the centennial of the launching of the Pony Express, a short-lived venture promoted by William Hepburn Russell of the freight company Russell, Majors and Waddell...
(1959–1960). James Best
James Best
James Best is an American actor best known for his role as bumbling Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the CBS television series The Dukes of Hazzard. He has also worked as an acting coach, artist, and musician.-Early years:...
and Sebastian Cabot
Sebastian Cabot (actor)
Charles Sebastian Thomas Cabot was an English film and television actor, best remembered as the gentleman's gentleman, "Giles French," opposite Brian Keith's character, in the 1960s sitcom Family Affair. He was also known for playing Dr...
guest starred in the segment. Julesburg was on the Pony Express
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a fast mail service crossing the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, from April 3, 1860 to October 1861...
(1860–1861) route from Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
The second episode (1955) of the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
western Cheyenne
Cheyenne (TV series)
Cheyenne is a western television series of 108 black-and-white episodes broadcast on ABC from 1955 to 1963. The show was the first hour-long western, and in fact the first hour-long dramatic series of any kind, with continuing characters, to last more than one season...
, starring Clint Walker
Clint Walker
Norman Eugene Walker, known as Clint Walker , is an American actor best known for his cowboy role as "Cheyenne Bodie" in the TV Western series, Cheyenne.-Life and career:...
, is entitled "Julesburg". In the story line, Julesburg is depicted as under the control of a ruthless cattle baron played by Ray Teal
Ray Teal
Ray Teal was an actor who appeared in more than 250 movies and some 90 television programs in his 37-year career. His longest running role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on NBC's most successful western, Bonanza...
, later cast as the sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
in the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
series Bonanza
Bonanza
Bonanza is an American western television series that both ran on and was a production of NBC from September 12, 1959 to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 430 episodes, it ranks as the second longest running western series and still continues to air in syndication. It centers on the...
.
Geography
Julesburg is located at 40°59′18"N 102°16′0"W (40.988422, -102.266677).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,467 people, 613 households, and 407 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,167.6 people per square mile (449.5/km²). There were 699 housing units at an average density of 556.4 per square mile (214.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 89.03% White, 0.20% African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 7.77% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.18% of the population.
There were 613 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.8% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 7.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 24.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $28,207, and the median income for a family was $34,500. Males had a median income of $27,337 versus $17,125 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $14,913. About 8.1% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
Climate
Julesburg experiences a semi-arid climate (KöppenKöppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
BSk) with cold, dry winters and hot, wetter summers.
Jack Slade
In 1858, Joseph A. "Jack" Slade, a superintendent for the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express CompanyCentral Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company
The Central Overland California and Pike's Peak Express Company was the parent company of the Pony Express.It was formed by William Russell, Alexander Majors and William Waddell, as a freighting company supplying goods to the western United States...
, was tracking down horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
thieves, including Jules Beni. Slade caught up with him at Julesburg, but Beni shot him five times. Everybody thought that Slade was dead and several angry townsfolk chased Beni out of Julesburg. When they returned, they found Slade struggling to his feet, having miraculously recovered.
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 his fingers, and then put the gun in Beni's mouth and pulled the trigger. Afterward, he severed Beni's ears as trophies.
This account is among the Stories of the Century
Stories of the Century
Stories of the Century is a Western television series that ran in syndication through Republic Pictures between January 23, 1954, and March 11, 1955.-Synopsis:...
, a syndicated television series starring and narrated by Jim Davis
Jim Davis (actor)
Jim Davis was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap Dallas, a role which he held up until his death in April 1981.-Biography:...
, which aired on March 4, 1955. Gregg Palmer
Gregg Palmer
Gregg Palmer, originally Palmer Lee is an American actor, known primarily for his prolific work in television westerns...
(born 1927) played the role of Slade, and Paul Newlan
Paul Newlan
Paul Emory Newlan was an American film and TV character actor from Plattsburgh, New York. He was best known for his role as Captain Grey on the NBC police series M Squad and for his roles in films including The Americanization of Emily and The Slender Thread.-Career:Newlan appeared in dozens of...
(1903–1973) portrayed Beni.