Jules Stretch
This stretch of the road, from Julesburg to "French Louie's" [Pole Creek Station] was known as the "Jules Stretch." The stretch of road going from the Pole Creek crossing and…
Names of the Upper Crossing
"The Upper Crossing of the South Fork of the Platte apparently went by several names including 'Laramie Crossing,' 'Goodale's Crossing,' 'Morrell's Crossing,' and later 'Julesburg' or 'Overland City,' although Julesburg came…
Buildings at Julesburg
"At Julesburg—in early staging days one of the most important points along the Platte—were erected the largest buildings of the kind between Fort Kearney and Denver. They were built of cedar logs,…
Mile 546: Devil’s Dive
" Elston and a detachment were sent down ahead of the train to where it would pass a very bad piece of road, a few miles east of Julesburg ; there was…
Mile 550: Jules Stretch
"Old Julesburg was a very busy place, primarily because it was at the junction of the main roads up the South and North Platte rivers, respectively called the Pikes Peak or Denver…
Lower and Upper California Crossings
"Between Fort Kearny and Fort Laramie there were only two divergences that are noteworthy; both pertain to the late period of the trail. Until 1859 all travel on the south…
Mile 554: Lodgepole Creek Road
"The Lodgepole Creek Road was unknown until 1857 and was used very little until '61, when the government routed the new mail stages that way. Within a year or two…
Mile 554: Lodgepole Creek Valley
"Here is the valley of Lodgepole Creek through which passed historic trails, telegraph lines, and railroads. The famed Pony Express followed the valley in 1860-61. “Nine Mile” Pony Express station…
Mile 552: Julesburg
"On the south fork of the Platte River, nearly opposite the mouth of Lodgepole Creek, stood, from the late fifties, a flea-bitten collection of shacks—unpainted, unwholesome, and thoroughly unlovely. It…
Mile 552: Julesburg Station
This is the sight of the Upper California Crossing, and the original site of Julesburg (which moved across the river and east 5 miles when the Transcontinental Railroad was built…
Mile 546: Devil’s Dive
Just past Mile 546 is Devil's Dive, a spot on the South Platte River where "[t]he hill was so steep here that stage coaches had to slow down to climb…