When All Roads Went Through Julesburg, Colorado

            Gasoline powered travel across America began in 1903 when a daring fellow, George Wyman, rode a motorcycle from San Francisco to NY in 50 days.

1903 was a busy year for efforts to cross the continent. In May of that year, Horatio Nelson Jackson, Sewall Crocker and a dog named Bud made the trip in a Winton. They needed 63 days to cross the country.

A month later, a team from Packard began their 61 day journey. They took a more difficult path than Jackson and crossed the mountains of Utah and Colorado before heading north to the Transcontinental RR. Packard wanted the PR photos a trip through the mountains would provide.

In July of 1903 a team from Oldsmobile began a trip that lasted 73 days.

By 1907, only eleven trips across the land had been completed by cars. Ten of the eleven expeditions came through tiny Julesburg, Colorado.

The town is well known for being on the routes of the Pony Express, California Trail, Overland Stage, and the Transcontinental RR. For a while the town was also a stop on the Lincoln Highway.
Until I started digging, these early automotive trails were largely unknown, even to people who grew up in rural northeastern Colorado. Recently I learned the Great Race, the 1908 NY to Paris race made famous in the movie of that name, came through Julesburg as did the US Army's 1919 Motor Convoy.

Julesburg was never a crossroads in the truest sense. It was never the destination for early travelers. It is however well worth your time to stop and absorb some of the amazing history this town has experienced.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add, Julesburg is also home to what some claim is the oldest NHRA sanctioned drag strip in the country. I suspect there are caveats to that particular claim.

Happy Trails to all of you.

By the way, this is a forced perspective photograph of 1/24th scale models in front of a real background.

1925 Ford Model T Runabout is by Danbury Mint

1910 Maytag Model F is by Liberty Classics  (Yep..... Maytag made cars for a while)

1917-ish Ford Model T is by Motor Max

Taken on: June 6, 2024

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Danbury Mint

1925

Model T

Runabout

1910

Maytag

Model F

Liberty Classics

1917

Motor Max

George Wyman

San Francisco

New York

1903

Horatio Nelson Jackson

Sewall Crocker

Bud

Winton

Packard

Transcontinental Railroad

Utah

Colorado

Oldsmobile

Julesburg

Pony Express

California Trail

Overland Stage

Lincoln Highway

Great Race

1908

NY to Paris

1919

US Army

Motor Convoy

NHRA

forced perspective

1/24

scale die-cast model cars One24thscale 1907 drag

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