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Branson

Ghost town · San Diego County, California

Santa Ysabel quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1939, 1:62,500)
Santa Ysabel quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1939, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Branson is a ghost town in San Diego County, California. It is one of 19 former communities in San Diego County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 12th among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Branson as a historical populated place on the Julian topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 33.0781° N, 116.6172° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleJulian
Elevation3,980 ft
Nearest living townJulian, CA
Distance to it1.7 miles
GNIS feature ID1868955
Coordinates33.07810, -116.61724

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Branson is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Julian, CA (population 1,491), about 1.7 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 3,980 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Branson?

Branson is in San Diego County, California, at 33.0781, -116.6172.

How many ghost towns are in San Diego County?

San Diego County, California has 19 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.