[6] The first European settlers were "Cockney Bill" Williams from England and John Wesley Horrell, who arrived in the area in 1850 or 1851.

They passed through the region in 1869 from San Bernardino en route to Arizona, in the wake of the American Civil War.

A tent city initially formed in the boomtown, followed by more permanent structures as it became apparent that gold mining in Julian would persist for some time.

Victorian-style structures were constructed in the latest stage of Julian’s early settlement, including the Hoskins House.

On February 22, 1870, the first "lode", or hard rock, mining claim was filed in the Julian area.

While the miners tried to wrestle the gold from deep within the earth, James Madison brought a wagon load of young apple trees into the mountains.

[11][12] Local historians have variably suggested that the Julian of 1873 rivaled San Diego in population and they unsuccessfully attempted to shift the county seat to the city.

[8] According to a bronze historical plaque appearing in the town, in the early days of Julian, the majority of San Diego County's Black population resided in or near the town, including the founders of the Robinson Hotel and a noted resident, America Newton, a freed slave who laundered miners' clothing.

In 1976, Julian approved a plan that required the exteriors of any buildings on Main Street be no younger in age than 1913.

[8] During a period of drought, the community of Julian was compelled by the San Diego County supervisors to obey a moratorium on development until a 30,000 gallon waste treatment plant could reduce the risk that a developing Julian’s sewage output might pollute the San Diego River.

[14] On May 29, 1989, Benjamin Haimes of Encino and Gustav Oran Hudson of El Cajon) disputed a claim to land to the Ready Relief and Hubbard Mines in Julian’s Chariot Canyon (historically owned by the Bureau of Land Management) over rights to an area where both had intentions to prospect for gold.

[15][16][17] A controversy erupted in Julian in 1991 as the community lost its bid to resist the construction of fast food restaurants.

Zweig circumvented a community moratorium on new development (induced due to the town’s longstanding drought), agreeing to continue to sell 30,000 gallons of water a day in return for the waiver to build.

In the 1960s, motion picture animator Ollie Johnston acquired and restored a full-size 3 ft (914 mm) Porter steam locomotive originally built in 1901, named the Marie E. He then built the Deer Lake Park & Julian Railroad (DLP&J) at his vacation estate in Julian to run the locomotive with a small gondola and caboose pulling behind it, utilizing railroad ties from the defunct Viewliner Train of Tomorrow attraction in Disneyland.

[22] The region around Julian was hit by a multi-year drought starting in 1999, leading up and into the catastrophic Cedar Fire of 2003 following an extremely wet 1997–1998 El Niño cycle.

[23] The drought-induced devastation of the Coulter pines due to the beetles has allowed some landowners in the Volcan Mountains to the immediate north of Julian to obtain exemptions from filing timber-harvest plans.

These plans are normally required under the California Environmental Quality Act and effectively allow the state to regulate the logging practices exercised on a parcel of land, raising fears in Julian that overlogging might be technically permissible in light of the Coulter pine disaster.

[24] In recent decades Julian has become a quaint mountain resort, with most businesses oriented toward tourism and not local services.

[26] In 2004, an interviewing journalist noted that up to a third of Julian’s population had been affected by property losses associated with fire.

Drought and infestation of the local forests by pine bark beetles was observed to exacerbate the fire season’s stressing effect on the community.

These developments (such as the New England-themed Hoskings Ranch development), which often exceed $1 million in listing prices, are predominantly owned as vacation homes by individuals who principally live in La Jolla, with significant concentrations from Del Mar and Coronado in metropolitan San Diego.

[29][30] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 7.8 square miles (20 km2), all land.

Soils in and around Julian are mostly dark brown, slightly to moderately acidic sandy loams which are well drained and of variable stoniness.

As is typical in southern California, the summer has the driest months, but with a number of monsoonal storms from the southeast.

Public transportation includes bus service from either El Cajon or Borrego Springs, via San Diego Metropolitan Transit System on route #891.

[63] The California Wolf Center is managed in conjunction with the United States Forest Service but is financed entirely through private donations.