Online historical collections

What are the County Parks online historical collections?

The online collections are a publicly available digital repository of newspaper articles, letters, other documents, photos, and object images that have historical and cultural significance to Santa Clara County Parks sites. The online collections include items connected to Almaden Quicksilver, Martial Cottle, and Joseph D. Grant County parks.

How do I access the online collections?

The online collections can be accessed by clicking here: Online Collections | County Parks (pastperfectonline.com) You do not need to log in to anything to access it.

How do I navigate the online collections?

To search for items in any of the three parks’ collections, you can use the "keyword search" at the top of the page to search for a last name, location, descriptive word, or other word that might relate to what you are looking for. Alternatively, you can click "photos," “archives” or “objects” to just search for one type of item in the collections, or use “Advanced Search” to narrow down the results with multiple criteria.

If you want to view items from just one park, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the link below the park description to view items just from that park. You can then use search and filter functions on items from just that park.

How do I request a digital copy of an image from the online collections?

To request an unwatermarked image, simply click on the image and you will see a "request image" button on the bottom right of the screen. Click on the link and fill out the form. We will contact you shortly. We generally respond to requests within 2-4 weeks. 

What if I have something that I think should be added to park historical collections?

To offer an item for donation to the park collections, email [email protected] with a description of the item and your best contact email and telephone number.

We appreciate offers of potential collections items but are not able to accept all. It must have significance to a particular park and not duplicate other items. We need to be able to properly store and care for it. The item must have research or display value that makes it a good addition to our collections.