new almaden mercury mining museum

Calif-Family4

Small County museum that does a nice job of explaining how quicksilver was mined and how it's used in the gold mining process. Nice old mine manager's home with several rooms decorated in late 1800s furniture. Good for an hour stop before or after a hike up to English Camp in the Almaden Quicksilver park nearby

reneen724

Santa Clara county parks did a beautiful job renovating this historic building. The museum is informative and interesting, the staff is great and there are wonderful hikes in the hills surrounding the area

mini

The New Almaden quicksilver mine is the oldest and most productive quicksilver (i.e., mercury) mine in the U.S. The museum is a "gem" of a museum explaining the entire mining network that existed once in the San Jose area. There are exhibits (mining history of the area, and one on medicine); interactive exhibits; children's play area; rocks to pick up and examine (mercury is heavy!). The staff here is amazing - very friendly, willing to answer your every question. When you visit the mining museum, be sure to bring those interested in historic homes as well. Casa Grande is the 2nd half of the museum and is a historic hotel; there are also very good gardens here. The gardens are a perfect setting for a group event or for a wedding.We found this place fascinating and spent about an hour and a half here. Parking is free and is by the museum.

PBTravelstheWorld

Lovely FREE museum that is part of the Santa Clara County Parks System and looked pretty ADA accessible. The ranger led us through the Casa Grande that houses the museum and showcases part of the restored house that one of the mine owner's lived in. The museum covers the extraction of mercury (called quicksilver) from the 1840's through early part of the 20th century. It covers the processes used, life in the area and how mercury was an important product in an earlier time in the Valley. The house part of the museum is a double parlor, entry and one additional room (there is a gift and book shop). The grounds are lovely and there is also a walking tour around to other buildings and monuments in the area that's about 2 miles long. Plenty of parking and certainly a hidden gem that's FREE in the very expensive Silicon Valley.

sleeper24hr

Didn't know that this museum has so much of history to tell and show. If you are coming to San Jose, I'd suggest you to take another 10 miles toward south to this place. You will learn new things about this city.

mkj123

The New Almaden Mercury Mine was named after another huge mine in Spain. The New Almaden Mine was the biggest mine in CA during the gold rush because it mined the mercury needed to separate the gold from rocks. The museum is 1/2 mile from one of the entrances to the Almaden Quicksilver County Park which is great for hiking, bike riding and horseback riding.

1sue

This is a great place to get a feel for the historical culture of this area, especially if it is combined with a trip to Almaden Quicksilver County Park. The entrance is less than a mile from the museum and an interpretive map details some of the area's mining history.

mtrinko

Although people think of California and gold mines, this is something different and educational. They keep mining the Mercury becz it is more dangerous to the environment to leave it in the ground.

ScienceTrip

We had asked several months ahead for a docent to be present to guide our group of 30 or so around the Museum, which was a little crowded with our numbers. But the highly-knowledgeable Doug gave a thorough and interesting description of the house itself, and of the mining artifacts in the portion of the house that was converted to a mining museum. If you know little of the mercury-mining history of California, this will inform you - there's even a large lump of cinnabar (mercury ore) to be handed around.Ample paved parking. Flush toilets. Gift shop with literature for sale. No food, though. All told, a good place to stop if you're in the neighborhood - and a nice plein-air California drive to get here. Hiking trails are available in the nearby mining park at the top of the hill (separate parking). Be careful of deer when passing the reservoir - there's still enough water there for them to drink.

corkiek

I had lived here for 13 years and knew something about New Almaden. Now this museum is open and explains the importance of New Almaden. The mercury supplied by this mining operation supplied the gold fields of California for many years. The house has lovely antiques and our docent was a gem! He explained the rooms and items shown. And he also mentioned General Hallack who was mining superintendent here. The process of making mercury from ore was demonstrated very clearly. And the gift shop was very nice. This was a very enjoyable afternoon, recommended by our granddaughter. Worth a visit!,

TrixieBelle

Nice gift shop, pleasant rangers. I wish they offered a regular schedule to the mines rather than insisting it be done by group reservations (e.g. do this 1 time a month on Saturdays, subject to cancellation, sign up in adavance but you don't have to be a group...?) i feel like access to some of the mines could be better allowed.

ODonal

I pass by this museum all the time when going to the La Foret restaurant at the end of town. I finally stopped and visited the place. It was well worth the time spent there. The hills all around New Almaden are those that were mined for cinnabar/mercury for quite a while in the past. I knew a little about the area because of a plaque at the La Foret, but seeing some of the equipment and reading more about the techniques used in mining was really interesting.

adimer

Not many things are free these days. The Casa Grande is a gem, full of history an the volunteer staff is great in walking you through the exhibits. Plan for a couple of hours. In nice weather you can picnic outside, and plan on talking the a walk to the historical houses along Almadrn road and the cemetery on Bertram.

l_y_k_3_l_3

This museum is only open friday/saturday/sundays and is free.When I visited this museum, I first got a brief introduction from a museum employee, which way definitely interesting. Then, visiting the museum, the stories of the mining activities for quicksilver are told, which was required for e.g. processing of gold. Definitely worth a visit, although the collection is not that big (e.g. can be visited in 1-1,5 hrs) and a little outside of San Jose (car required).

Local93921

Unexpected, not well known, fun museum on local mining history. Good hikes in the adjacent park. The next nearest mining museum is up in the Sierra Foothills.