Weird California
Weird California
Weird California - By Joe Parzanese

Julian Gold Rush Hotel

Map 2032 Main Street, Julian, California 92036

The Julian Gold Rush Hotel
The Julian Gold Rush Hotel

The small town of Julian blossomed and grew back in the days when gold was found in the hills. After the gold ran out, those that remained discovered a new form of "gold" in the apples that they could grow there. The fruit is rather famous throughout San Diego County.

The Julian Gold Rush Hotel
The Julian Gold Rush Hotel

In the late 1800s, Albert Robinson, a freed slave from Missouri, moved to the small town. There he met his wife, Margaret, and opened up a restaurant. It was also part bakery, and Margaret would often bake apple pies. Margaret was also the daughter of Susan Tull who was the wife of the first African American ever summoned as a juror in San Diego County. Eventually, Albert grew the building into the Hotel Robinson, complete with fourteen guest rooms.

On June 10, 1915, Albert Robinson passed away. Sadly, when he died, the town refused to allow his remains to be buried in the "white" cemetery and he was finally laid to rest forty five miles west of the town. Margaret continued to run the hotel until 1921 when she sold it to Martin Jacobs who eventually changed the name to its present "Julian Hotel". Still a hotel to this day, all of the rooms are fitted with period furniture and the entire hotel tries to keep with the times of the late 1800s. It is the oldest continuously operating hotel in Southern California.

But when the new owners acquired the Julian hotel, it came with not one, but two ghosts. The first was a violent spirit that appeared rather angry and would occasionally break windows. It often appeared as a great ball of fire or shooting lights. An exorcist was brought in, which thankfully ended the actions of whoever this spirit was. The other ghost is believed to be Albert Robinson.

Albert still haunts Room #10, where he is said to have resided back when he was alive. His bed is often messed up on its own, furniture is often re-arranged back to the way it was long ago, and the smell of pipe smoke lingers in the room. Additionally the spirit will hide small objects and slam doors.

Other incidents that have occurred include shadows moving past a stained glass window, the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs from the second floor, and windows opening and closing on their own. Additionally, a menu has been seen floating in the air and lace curtains have been seen pulled open as if someone was looking out, but no one was there.

Legend has it, that other spirits reside within the town of Julian. One such story, told from the gold rush days, talks of a mountain man called "Arkensaw". Apparently this large burly man eventually became afraid of sleeping in his own house and moved out of town in a hurry. He told of hearing strange sounds while he slept including someone groaning in misery and the sound of a razor being sharpened against a leather strap.



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First Created: 2006-08-08
Last Edited: 2006-08-08


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