New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum — Attraction in Los Gatos

First I would like to thank the staff for the kindness and consideration they showed us during our visit. They were wonderful in sharing their extensive knowledge of the history of New Almaden Quicksilver Mine and park. The Mining Museum is housed in a building called Casa Grande, and was built in 1854, and renovated by the county five years ago at a cost of $6 million. It sure looks great and houses many mining artifacts. Casa Grande is a three story building with the top story dedicated to offices for the park, the bottom floor houses conference room and the ground floor is where the museum and gift shop are. Some of the rooms are furnished with mostly donated or loaned period furnishing that were not from Casa Grande, but fit right in. Furniture that was here are a book case in the office area and some other pieces, but most is donated. There is even a square Steinway piano that was donated. The floor in the left side room is original, but the floor in the right side rooms is a modern replica. Beyond the gift shop on the right are the exhibits, and they are excellent. Using mining artifacts collected by Constance Perham, the museum give you a sense of what life was like for the miners. These artifacts that were used by the miners give a sense of authenticity to this museum. Realizing that the Ohlone Indians were using cinnabar, which contains mercury, Mexican Cavalry Officer Captain Andres Castillero made the first mining claim in California in 1845. Mercury being crucial to the mining of gold and silver, New Almaden soon became and important factor in the California Gold Rush. Due to it's location, New Almaden soon displaced mercury from Almaden, Spain. Mercury was also shipped to other countries, including China, because of it's location to coastal ports. New Almaden Quicksilver mine was therefore a huge money maker and important economic driver for California. The museum also has an extensive archive of unique photographs because one of the managers and doctor were photographers, and they documented underground mine work as well as everyday life of the miners and their families. This archive is available online for free. The entrance fee is FREE, but if you want to contribute $2 to support the museum, there is a mailbox where you can put in some money, but this is completely voluntary. Go see this museum, it is situated in a small valley where the company town was located. You can take a walking tour and see homes were the skilled workers lived, or visit the period cemetery. There are hiking trails that lead to mines and equipment used when the operation was active (now cleaned up and safe), and will give you a good workout. There are views that are awesome and relaxing. Casa Grande has a landscaped garden in the back with picnic benches. You can get married here, have a company meeting or just walk in and enjoy being in a building 166 years old. This is a historic place off the beaten path and worth your time to visit. So close to San Jose, this is...

I've lived in the San Jose area for 20 years and never realized this museum existed. We went for my son's 4th grade field trip and I loved it so much that I would definitely go back and would also recommend it to others. The museum is very informative about the mining process and the history of the area during that time. They have a lot of displays and an area that describes the typical day in the life of a miner. A portion of the museum has been decorated in the time frame of that era so you can see how the mining manager might have lived as he sought investors for the company. We also had a picnic lunch on the grounds and did a brief walk around the town to see some of the old homes and the graveyard. It was a lovely day and a...

I love that place, and plan on going again. I have learned to either go in the morning when it is not so hot, or in the evening. I prefer the morning. I went in the summer, I think that I will go in the spring next time. There will be pretty flower's that I can shoot picture's of. My two photo buddies and I found a mine it was the coolest thing. The rock's that are laying all around have tiny specks of silver in them, and they are sparkling. Of course I took a tiny little sample. We will be going back to find the April mine, I may have the name wrong. There were no restroom's there...