November 3, 2005

New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum gets
down and dirty with new geology exhibit

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

A new exhibit at the New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum has park personnel, volunteers and visitors excited about the evolution of cinnabar. And it explains it so that everyone will understand the process.

Park interpreter John Slenter designed the new geology exhibit at the New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum. Photo by Jeanne Carbone Lewis

“We acquired the rocks from Connie Perham’s old museum,” said New Almaden Quicksilver County Park Association [NAQCPA] President Kitty Monahan. “And we stored them. Robbie Lamons added to them with other specimens she found through the years. And then she and Mike Cox started identifying the different stones.”

The idea for the new display was years in the making as the collection of cinnabar multiplied.

“The museum staff and volunteers have been talking about doing a geology exhibit ever since we opened the museum,” said Santa Clara County Park interpretive program supervisor Robin Schaut. “John Slenter finally took on the project. He and volunteer David Miller worked together to design and build a very professional exhibit on a shoestring budget.”

NAQCPA volunteer Dave Miller had just finished the blacksmith shop last year on the Casa Grande property and said, “I’ll build the cabinets for the display.”

“Dave really jumped on the bandwagon,” said park interpreter John Slenter. “He started building the cabinets in April and they were done in July. Then I had to figure out how to display all the artifacts with the interpretations.”

But first Slenter ventured to the State Mineral Museum in Mariposa for ideas. And what he came up with for the red rock that was mined out of hills nearby from 1845 to 1976 will explain the minerals to even the most geology-challenged. The exhibit describes cinnabar worldwide, the rock cycle and New Almaden cinnabar with graphics and explanations.

Cinnabar discoveries brought riches to the Almaden Mining Company. Photo by Jeanne Carbone Lewis

Finally the idea for the new display sounded like it was falling into place. Slenter and David Miller planned the dimensions. Miller began cutting and sawing wood upstairs at the Casa Grande. A snafu occurred when the fire marshal inspected the area and shut down the small indoor construction site due to a possible fire danger. So on the days Miller worked, the equipment had to be carried from the upstairs room to the downstairs patio area in back of the historical building.

“It’s a wonderful addition to the museum,” said Monahan. “And a gorgeous display. We’re inviting everyone to come and enjoy it. Next we’re working on a medicine cabinet of the 1800s.”

The New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum is open Friday noon to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is located at 21350 Almaden Road, San Jose. Their telephone number is (408) 323-1107.