Casa Grande 1866
| H O M E |
The New Almaden Quicksilver County
Park Association reports that the Santa
Clara County Parks Department has purchased the historic New
Almaden site, Casa Grande (1854), and the adjoining Club Almaden Gardens.
The acquisition will be used to house a ranger office, the Mercury Mining
Museum, a restaurant, and the Opry House, which has time left on its lease.
The interior of the second floor is used for the Museum. The Mercury Mining
Museum opened on July 3,1998; the hours are 10:00AM to 4:00PM., Friday
through Sunday. The entrance to the Quicksilver County Park, called the
Hacienda Entrance, will be landscaped for picnicking and staging area for
the trails. For further information, call the Santa Clara County Parks and
Recreation Dept. 268-6883
Although the Department planned to build a replica of the old mine office to serve as both museum and ranger station, construction was never undertaken. The lease on the old museum building expired in August 1997. Boards of both the New Almaden Quicksilver County Park Association, which operates the Museum for the Parks Department, and the New Almaden Community Club, Inc. voted unanimously to endorse the acquisition. If you are interested in volunteering at the new museum, drop by Thursday through Monday and talk to Robbie Lamons or Kitty Monahan For further information, send a message to boydnet@ix.netcom.com with "Casa Grande" in the topic. AVCA's parks contact does not have e-mail. If you want a speedy response, please include your phone number (which will not be retained for any other purpose). |