The book and the park
Written: Sep 17 '02 (Updated Sep 17 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Book recommended by museum staff on site.
Cons: Could be a little more recent history on surviving structures.
The Bottom Line: Great book, great public park with miles of trails up thousands of feet if you like. A park not to miss, particularly for horseback or hiking.
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| sevry's Full Review: Jimmie Schneider - Quicksilver: The Complete Histo... |
The book, by Jimmie Schneider, chronicles the discovery of quicksilver (mercury, and its ore, cinnabar) in the hills near the Santa Clara mission, and its profitable development starting as the company famous in 60s song - the Quicksilver Mining Co. Discovered by a Mexican Captain, it was developed as a large factory just off the current 'Old' Almaden road (which leads through town), and right next to the current Hacienda trailhead (a dirt lot). When mines ran out, new shafts were sunk, and processing moved on. They had a narrow guage train running. There are shafts all through the hills, and operations spread out for miles from various eras, up to the 1970s. Miners built a camp for the Cornish and Welsh, called Englishcamp or town, and the Spanish picked a lower spot, nearer the original factory area and tall chimneys, called Spanishtown. The museum, on 'Old' Almaden, and about a quarter of a mile from the Hacienda trailhead, has relics of both, explanations of the mining and refining process, tours for schoolkids, and mounted photos, many of them identical to those found in this book. Occasionally, they offer a van tour up into the hills, for those who have difficulty with uphill hiking (the Mine Hill is about an 1800-2000 ft climb), if one books way ahead.
The book is essentially the background not for the area, generally, but specifically for the park purchased by the county, to rescue it from impending development (the hills are idyllic, have a history of extensive development, many old roads and roadcuts, extraordinary meadows and views, and would have sold in a day or two if put on the market - hopefully it won't be in the future, either). He goes a little hard on the Spanish monarchy in discussing the original, and very profitable mercury mine at Almaden, namesake for this in Santa Clara. He describes the ability of mercury to meld with gold and silver, making it useful for extracting those precious metals, particularly in an age gone by.
There's a bit of an irony in this park. Much of the interest is, after all, in the development, the people, that history and not so much the natural unspoiled wilderness, though it is beautiful and much of the appeal of this park (which is not included in epinions' roster, by the way). Schneider describes at some length both the English and Spanish towns. Nothing remains of the Spanishtown. But some ruins remain from the Englishtown, just down from the top of Mine Hill, and particularly from its redevelopment during WWII as a WPA camp. Up at Englishtown you find an old barn and shack, for example, that can be seen in photos from the book. The old schoolhouse is a tangle of boards and framing, upon a surprizingly intact floor (the old entrace from the photos is overgrown and hidden, and the present trail is just a little side entrance, also seen in the photos). Up on the hill, is an office built during the WPA days, by contrast. And there are many other structures around in that area from the same period, and later.
Since I'm on the park, here, the other main trailhead (there are two others, as well) is a paved lot off Mockingbird Hill Lane from Old Almaden road. Three trails leave here, one to the left, now called Virl Norton which leads past the backyards of various private homes and then straight up the mountainside. I think they call it 'heart attack' hill. Most people seem to be coming down, with their walking sticks, not going up. Two others lead to the right from the parking lot. They meet shortly at a trail above. And one can continue off to the Mine Hill and elsewhere. Or, there's this nice little trail, don't know if it has a name, apparently popular with locals (since you find them always on this trail), that leads past some of the more unusual brush and views you might see. But it can get crowded, and the trail sometimes narrows to just a few feet. But, you might otherwise miss it, if not mentioned.
So, one could go on and on about the park, the neat Almaden Reservoir further up along Old Almaden road, the high meadows, steep drops, the 'broccoli' treetops looking down into the valleys, the flowers in spring, the leaves in summer and fall. It's just so much. It's one of the more popular places, and rightly so. Fills up on weekends, of course. But you might find some space in the Mockingbird lot, if not the Hacienda trailhead.
This book, too, is fascinating. It was offered with another at the museum, and this was the one I bought at the time - a little pricey at $25 cash only (don't know about amazon.com). But it's nice 80lb or so glossy paper. They have others about the area, about the churches, about daily life, family disputes, and so on. But this book really helps provide some history, often for stuff you just don't see currently in the park (since the shafts are locked up, and most of the structures shown in the photos are completely gone, now). But the book, the park itself, are definitely worth it, and the park is one of my favorites.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
sevry
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Reviews written: 23
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