Julesburg

Julesburg began as a true old west town: gunslingers, stage-robbing, and bar room brawls. As a stop on the Pony Express in the 1860s this popular little town had much appeal. At one point, the town was burnt to the ground by local Indians who were resisting the white man invading their territory. Located along the South Platte River there is an abundance of opportunity for growing crops and although Julesburg is much smaller now, there is still a nice vibe to the town.

As of the last census there were 1,222 residents, which represented a decrease in the population of about 16% from the previous census. The average household income here is $30,754 with about 18% of the population living below the poverty rate. There are many older, small, single family homes located here and they go for a median price of $82,687, making the cost of living here pretty appealing. However, the most common industry in Julesburg is retail which accounts for the lower income levels. On a good note, Julesburg has experienced a much lower rate of unemployment than most areas of the country.

Julesburg is literally on the border of Colorado and Nebraska where I-76 enters Nebraska. The little rural town of 1,500 people is a near perfectly square mile of streets populated by homes, schools, Fort Sedgwick museum, city buildings, churches and stores. The South Platte River runs along the south side of town and runs parallel along the northern boundary of I-76.

Julesburg was on the Pony Express route from Missouri to California and there is a statue of a Pony Express horse and rider in town. The town was also an important stage coach stop back in pioneer days. There is a lot of wild west stories about outlaws and indians in the area and military history -- Julesburg was the site of Fort Rankin (later Fort Sedgwick). In 1865 after the Sand Creek Massacre the indian raided the town once killing soldiers and civilian and later returned to burn the town to the ground.

The average household income for the town is about $25,000, low compared to many areas in Colorado. Real estate is also low with typical ranch style home going for about $100,000 or even less in some cases for decent homes in town. There are ranches and large land lots available outside of town offering rich farm land and water rights. I also saw a 5 bedroom house that looked descent in the pictures asking price $39,000! Its Nebraska prices in Colorado!

It does feel like Kansas there (or more accurately Nebraska), you are in the Great Plains and you can not see the mountains this far east. The pretty simplicity of farmed fields and the slow South Platte River give the area a lazy feel. This would be an ideal place to live if on a tight budget and in the trucking industry or agricultural industry in the plains states.