Julian Historical Society Newsletter
September 2026
Julian High School History
Brought Back to Life! A community program and showing of the paintings will be held at the JUHS Little Theater on October 18, 2026 at 1:00 pm. A Free Event – Hope to see you there! After a year of restoration work, the ten historic WPA (The Works Progress Administration) paintings have now been restored thanks to many generous JUHS alumni.
Julian High School has been the home of 10 WPA paintings for 90 years. Over time the life of the paintings had been chaotic at times. The historic paintings had sometimes been poorly stored, damaged, and had yellowed and aged over time. The 10 WPA paintings have been a part of Julian High School’s history for 90 years. They were commissioned by the superintendent Ray G. Redding to depict the vast geographic area of the district which was often referred to as the “pines to palms district”. The artist, Norman Henry Yeckley, was 24 when he began the project. Restoration of these paintings had been considered over the past twenty years and is now complete. Come and learn about the history of the paintings and the restoration process. Be the first to see them restored to their full glory. For more information or donations toward lighting for the paintings please contact Sandie Redding at [email protected]. Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a major American New Deal agency created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 to provide jobs and income to the millions of unemployed suffering during the Great Depression. The WPA employed more than 8.5 million people between 1935 and its closure in 1943. Harry Hopkins led the federal program, which aimed to preserve the self-respect and working skills of jobless Americans through paid labor rather than direct welfare handouts. In 1939, it was officially renamed the Work Projects Administration. Workers built or improved hundreds of thousands of miles of roads, alongside tens of thousands of bridges, public buildings, schools, parks, and airports. Through Federal Project Number One, the WPA also funded thousands of artists, musicians, actors, and writers, creating public murals, theater productions, and historical records. As the United States ramped up defense production and military enlistment for World War II, unemployment dropped sharply. Congress formally ended the WPA in 1943.
Classic Rotors Museum
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Notes and Coming Events
The Julian Time Capsule The Julian Town Square project is a grass-roots community effort that started in 2017. Many volunteers, businesses & organizations came together to make this project a reality. The town square project is dedicated to the community of Julian & will serve as a community park & outdoor entertainment space. It is the hope that this place will be the epicenter of art, theater & community gatherings for many generations to come. Items for a time capsule were collected at our 2026 4th of July celebration and are now on display at the Julian Historical Society until the end of October. At that time the items will be locked away in their protective case and remain at the Historical Society for the future generations. In fifty years, this collection of Julian history will be opened to enjoy. Field Trip September 26th Classic Rotors, Ramona CA - The rare and vintage Rotorcraft Museum located at Classic Rotors building, Ramona Airport. (2690 Montecito Rd., Ramona)
We need greeters (docents) at the Witch Creek Schoolhouse and the Stageline barn. The Julian Historical Society buildings will be open to the public every weekend starting Saturday September 5th until Sunday October 11th for Apple Days. Your help would greatly be appreciated. Call Julie 858.254.0584 julianhistoricalsociety.org A copy of this newsletter will now be posted on our newsletter page each month. Check it out and let me know what you think! Julie ([email protected]) J C Silvers and Family
James C. Silvers was born in Penngrove, California on July 26, 1862. He married Anna Campbell in 1889 in San Diego. James C Silvers’ father came to California in 1852 driving an ox team across the plains for a man named Bouse, the father of Mrs. Schrum of Wynola.
In 1895 James and Anna moved to Wynola and began farming, raising fruit, and bee keeping. And then, in 1903 they moved to Julian so their children could attend Cuyamaca High School there. Jim was not one to remain idle and soon opened a general merchandise store on the southwestern corner of Washington and Main Streets. He later added a garage and filling station. The Silvers always took an interest in public affairs and were active in their town of Julian. Jim and Anna Silvers had four children; Ruth, Fred, Henry, and James, Jr. Many locals will remember Henry who never married and remained in the old homestead on Washington and Main. He was known to play his player-piano in the afternoons and have the music echo throughout the hills! James, Jr. also remained in Julian with his wife and son – living on 2nd Street. The general store dated back to the early days of Julian and appears in historical documentation and photographs from the late 1800s and early 1900s (such as documented views around 1914 and 1940). It is officially cataloged as Site #5 on the Julian Historic District townsite map maintained by San Diego County. Mike Julian
In 1860 Mike Julian took a trip to Pikes
Peak in Colorado where gold was the excitement of the day. He then returned to his home in Georgia to finish his schooling. When the Civil War broke out Mike and his brother Webb enlisted in the Confederate army, Mike soon made a captain’s rating. At the end of the war when the brothers returned home to Georgia it was to find the plantation in shambles. Their father, William, who owned 200 slaves that had been set free at the end of the war, remained on the plantation and continued to employ the ex-slaves. There was no work available for the returning soldiers. The Julian brothers, along with their Bailey cousins, Drury, Frank and James, decided to seek their fortune in the gold fields of the West. Mike, along with two other relatives, arrived in San Francisco looking everywhere for farming land. In the meantime, James Bailey and Webb Julian arrived in San Francisco and by accident the boys met with Mike Julian in a mining camp in southern Utah. The three worked their way south into Nevada and then to Arizona where they met with Tom Scott, a New York financier whose plan was to build a railroad from El Paso to San Diego. After some drifting trying to find jobs, they ended up in Temecula – meeting with a Mr. Harrell who directed then toward his home in the Julian area. Here they met up with brother & cousin, Drury Bailey, who was homesteading there. They stayed to help Drue build his cabin. Mike spent his spare time doing a little panning in a nearby stream, finding placer gold there in 1869. In 1871, Mike married Margaret Skidmore, the daughter of the discoverer of the Stonewall mine. They made their home in Julian until 1873. Mike was elected County Assessor and found his duties were such that he needed to move to San Diego. At the end of his first term he decided he did not like this particular job, so he moved his family to Los Nietos Valley (Long Beach). He and Margaret opened the “Julian Hotel”. He died there in 1903. Margaret remained in Long Beach at the hotel until her death in 1931. They had three sons - Will, Ray and Ed. Drury Bailey, along with his brothers and cousins, decided to name their town after Mike Julian because “Mike was better looking” than any other member of the Bailey family. |
