New Almaden

New Almaden
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
New Almaden Smelting Works, 1863. Photo: Carleton Watkins
Nearest city:	San Jose, California
Coordinates:	37°10′48″N 121°50′8″W / 37.18°N 121.83556°W / 37.18; -121.83556Coordinates: 37°10′48″N 121°50′8″W / 37.18°N 121.83556°W / 37.18; -121.83556
Built:	1854 [1]
Governing body:	Local
NRHP Reference#:	66000236
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	October 15, 1966[2]
Designated NHL:	July 4, 1961[3]

The New Almaden quicksilver mine in the Santa Teresa Hills in Santa Clara County, California, United States, is the oldest and most productive quicksilver (i.e., mercury) mine in the U.S.^[4] The site was known to the Ohlone Indians for its cinnabar long before a Mexican settler discovered the ores in 1820. By the time they were identified as mercury, the mine was perfectly timed to supply the California Gold Rush.^[5] The mine ran intermittently after 1927 and eventually closed. It was purchased by the county and is now part of Almaden Quicksilver County Park.

History

The mine is named for a mercury mine in (old) Almadén, Spain, which had operated since at least Roman times. The term Almadén, meaning "the mine".^[6], is derived from the Arabic language through medieval Islamic Spain.

Arthur De Wint Foote worked at New Almaden in the late 1870s under Randol.^[7]

Historical life at the New Almaden mine was vividly drawn by Mary Hallock Foote, the wife of Arthur DeWint Foote, the Resident Engineer from 1876. Her illustrated correspondence about New Almaden, "A California Mining Camp", appeared in the February 1878 issue of Scribner's Monthly. New Almaden also features prominently in her memoir A Victorian Gentlewoman in the Far West, which was later fictionalized by Wallace Stegner in his novel Angle of Repose.

Modern times

The entrances to the mines are closed off. After being identified as a superfund site and subsequent containment activities, the mining area can now be visited as part of the Santa Clara County Almaden Quicksilver county park. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.^[3] By the time Santa Clara County bought the mines in 1976 and ended operations, 83,974,076 pounds (37,388 metric tons) of mercury (worth more than US$70 million) had been extracted^[8].

The remains of a variety of structures left over from the 135 years of mining activity, including housing for the up to 1,800 miners, are scattered about the park, with the biggest concentration at what was known as English Camp, established by Cornish miners in the 1860s. Some structures were built later by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and there is a memorial honoring the Civilian Conservation Corps firefighters that were stationed there for a time.

There is also a museum adjacent at the site.

Almaden Quicksilver County Park

Senador Mine ruins

Almaden Quicksilver County Park is a 4,147 acres (17 km²) park that includes the grounds of former mercury ("quicksilver") mines. The park's elevation varies greatly: the most used entrances (on the east side of the park) are less than 600 feet (183 m) above sea level, while the highest point in the park is over 1,700 feet (518 m) above sea level. During the coldest storms of the winter season, it is not uncommon for the high summits to receive a light dusting of snow; this light dusting usually melts by noon. The park is owned and managed by the County of Santa Clara and its grounds also include the Guadalupe Reservoir; adjacent to park is the Almaden Reservoir. The Casa Grande Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum is located nearby.

Conversion from mines to park

In the period 1976 to 1978 the county developed a number of new large parks in rapid succession including Grant Ranch Park, Sanborn Park and Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Very soon after buying the mining property in 1976, Santa Clara County began planning for park usage, in an era where the county parks program was aggressively expanding.

The county parks director envisioned a historic park where visitors could experience the mining past and also enjoy the biodiversity of the natural setting. Facilities plans were created^[9] and an Environmental Impact Report was prepared^[10].

Principal issues assessed in the park proposal were:

• biological impacts upon habitat by park users
• water quality impacts to creeks draining the watershed
• visual and drainage impacts of road improvements
• historical analysis of mine usage

New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum

Cinnabar (mercury ore) specimen from New Almaden

The New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum is located in the Casa Grande (big house) at 21350 Almaden Road in New Almaden. La Case Grande, an 1854 revival-style mansion designed and built by architect Francis Meyers, was the official residence and office of the mine superintendents, as well as a country retreat for wealthy mine investors. The mansion now serves as the site of the New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum, which contains exhibits about the history of mercury mining and the cultural history of the mining communities at New Almaden. The exhibits include a mine diorama of the interior of a mine shaft, mining equipment and techology, a mine manager's office with period displays, and artifacts from Cornish, Mexican and Chinese mining families.

See also

• New Idria, California

References

1. ^ NHL Writeup^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "New Almaden". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=140&ResourceType=District. Retrieved 2008-01-17. 
4. ^ NPS Red Book^{[dead link]}
5. ^ NPS Santa Clara guide
6. ^ Gudde, Erwin; William Bright (2004) California Place Names (Fourth ed. ed.). University of California Press. p. 9. ISBN 0-520-24217-3
7. ^ Rickard, Thomas Arthur (1992). Interviews with Mining Engineers. Mini. p. 172. http://books.google.com/books?id=HcUJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA171&lpg=PA171&dq=%22Arthur+De+Wint+Foote%22&source=web&ots=8tOS6_Z0Qn&sig=29ZCwyu1bMJtjcrhDpksq-LoLQ0&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA172,M1. 
8. ^ Martin Cheek, "Mercury Uprising," San Jose Magazine 9, no. 1 (January 2006): 80-85
9. ^ Almaden Quicksilver Master Plan, County of Santa Clara, San Jose, California (1976)
10. ^ David Crimp, Leda Patmore, C. Michael Hogan, Harry Seidman and Vivian Paparigian, Final Environmental Impact Report, Almaden Quicksilver Park, prepared by Earth Metrics Inc. for the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department (1976)

• Jose Pitti, Antonia Castaneda, and Carlos Cortes (December 1988). "Five Views: An Ethnic Historic Site Survey for California / Mexican Americans in California / Historic Sites / Spanishtown Site, New Almaden, Santa Clara County". National Park Service. http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/5views/5views5h87.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-17. 

External links

• New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum and Casa Grande
• Almaden Quicksilver County Park
• Volunteer Organization supporting the Park, includes more information about the park and museum
• New Almaden Quicksilver Mine at Historic American Buildings Survey
• "Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California" (1862) by James M. Hutchings, Chapter 6 - Interesting description of life and operations at the mine site during the 1860's

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