History
Mercury Minutes video series
Mercury Minutes is a seven-part video series exploring New Almaden's mining history. Episodes introduce you to the value of mercury's use in gold processing and the communities who lived and worked on "the hill." Others cover County Parks' role in cleaning up the toxic legacy of mercury and how became Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Watch the full video series.
Almaden Quicksilver history
Prior to mercury mining production, cinnabar was ground for body paints and traded by multiple Ohlone-language tribes. After entering the Santa Clara Mission, they painted the mission walls with pigment made from the red rock.
Mining operations in New Almaden began in 1845 under the claim of Mexican Cavalry Officer Captain Andres Castillero. Upon visiting the mission, Castillero experimented with the red rock and discovered it was the ore body of mercury. Mercury is used to process precious metals, such as gold and silver. Prior to mercury being discovered in California, it was shipped from Almaden, Spain.
When the Mexican-American War began, Castillero returned to Mexico and sold his mine shares to Barron, Forbes Company. They began the first industrial mining operation by excavating tunnels and building brick furnaces to heat the cinnabar, release the mercury vapor and cool it into liquid mercury. Mine Manager Henry Halleck oversaw the increased operations and the construction of the Casa Grande, the "big house", in 1854. The 3-story, 27 room mansion served as the official residence and office for a succession of mine managers, and a country weekend retreat for wealthy mine investors. After a long court battle over property rights and ownership, the mine was sold to Quicksilver Mining Company. Mine Managers Butterworth and Randol riddled the hills with more tunnels and shafts in the search for cinnabar and profits.
Mercury mining promised steady work and a stable home for miners and their families. Jobs extracting ore, building tunnels, processing mercury, hauling goods and people, operating the company store, blacksmithing, teaching and doctoring were filled by people from Mexico, Chile, England, Wales, Finland, China and across the United States. Three distinct communities thrived in New Almaden: English Camp and Spanish Town in the hills and the Hacienda in the valley. In its heyday, more than 3000 people lived in New Almaden.
During its years of operation, New Almaden provided mercury for the California Gold Rush, the Comstock silver lode in Nevada, all the western mining states, as well as China, Mexico and other countries. New Almaden produced more than a million flasks of mercury, amounting to more metallic wealth than any California gold mine.
The decline of mercury began in the 1880s and 1890s. The quality of cinnabar ore declined. The Quicksilver Mining Company Board of Directors refused to invest in new mining infrastructure for a failing mine. The cyanide process was introduced in the 1890s to separate precious metals from their ore bodies. While still toxic, cyanide processing did not require industrial mining infrastructure. By 1927, the industrial mining companies declared bankruptcy. After the closing of mine operations, the Casa Grande had a succession of private owners and served a number of purposes, including tourist resort and recreational facility known as Club Almaden.
Small scale mercury mining continued on "the hill." There was a booming demand for mercury during World War II, when it could be used in blasting caps. A large rotary furnace was erected to process low-grade ore. By the 1970s, environmental hazards and processing costs made cinnabar unprofitable.
In 1973, the County Parks Department began purchasing the old mine properties. After extensive remediation projects, Almaden Quicksilver County Park opened to the public in 1976.
In 1985, the Department purchased a private collection of mining artifacts from Constance Perham, a resident of New Almaden. From 1949 to 1983, Mrs. Perham displayed mining artifacts, memorabilia, and photographs in her private "museum" in the historic village. The Parks Department leased the museum site from 1983 to 1998, and the New Almaden Quicksilver County Park Association volunteers maintained the collection and exhibits, as well as provided tours about the history of New Almaden and the Quicksilver Mines.
In 1997, the Casa Grande once again was offered for sale and the County Parks Department seized the opportunity to add the National Historic Site to Almaden Quicksilver County Park. The existing museum collection moved to the Casa Grande, where park staff and volunteers created exhibits. The new museum opened on July 3, 1998. After an extensive building renovation from 2009 to 2010, the newly expanded museum once again opened in January 2011.
For additional information about Almaden Quicksilver Park, go to the Almaden Quicksilver County Park webpage.
Online historical collections
Be sure to check our online historical collections to see photos, documents, and artifacts from the Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum. You can also view artifacts from Martial Cottle County Park or Joseph D. Grant County Park and can request images from us.