ALMADEN VALLEY TIMELINE

Native Americans inhabited the San Francisco Bay Area over 4,000 years ago. Ohlone Indians used cinnabar from the New Almaden area long before the arrival of the Spanish explorers.

Luis Chabolla and Antonio Sunol are credited with the first mining exploration on Alamitos Creek in New Almaden.

José Reyes Berryessa is granted the 4,438-acre Rancho San Vincente, and Justo Larios receives the 3,360-acre Rancho de Los Capitancillos. The Mexican land grants include New Almaden and the Almaden Quicksilver County Park.

Andrés Castillero, a Mexican army officer, claims mineral rights and establishes the first mining operation in New Almaden.

With the discovery of gold in California and the need for quicksilver – or mercury – to process the ore, the New Almaden mine becomes one of the most famous and productive in North America.

Hacienda Hotel, one of the first two-story lodgings in California, is built for visitors and serves as a boarding house for miners. Fire destroys the building in 1875. It is rebuilt and continues to operate until bankruptcy closes the mine in 1912.

The first school in the New Almaden area is built by mine owner Barron, Forbes Co. to educate children of mine workers and neighboring ranchers. The building is used as a school until it is demolished about 1914.

New Almaden Post Office opens.

Telephone service reaches New Almaden.

South Pacific Coast Railroad is extended to New Almaden to aid in harvesting timber in the surrounding redwood forests.

Baseball teams are organized in New Almaden and begin playing against surrounding townships. Uniforms are introduced in 1894.

First electric lights appear.

The depletion of cinnabar and the financial fallout of the Depression of 1893 forces the Quicksilver Mining Co. into bankruptcy. The company had mining rights to the property since 1864.

The mining-era Hacienda Hotel is converted into the Cafe Del Rio, a popular summer restaurant. In 1992, Le Foret, a French cuisine restaurant, opens in the building. The restaurant, still in operation, is known for its fine dining.

Almaden Reservoir is constructed with federal funds made available by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The dam has a height of 110 feet, a surface area of 57-acres and a storage capacity of 1,586 acre-feet of water.

The New Almaden Historical Society Museum is established.

The San Jose Planning Commission approves county plans to build the six-lane Almaden Expressway. First phase of the construction starts in 1958.

U.S. Department of the Interior establishes New Almaden National Historic Landmark District.

Construction begins on Highway 87, a six-lane freeway linking South San Jose to downtown San Jose and employment-rich areas to the north. The project will take more than 40 years to complete at a cost of nearly $1.3 billion.

Almaden Fashion Plaza opens. Built on a 34-acre site, the shopping center (now called Almaden Plaza) grows from a neighborhood mall into a regional shopping center.

Author Wallace Stegner uses New Almaden as one of the settings for his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “Angle of Repose.”

With an undefeated season, Leland High School, wins the first Central Coast Section football championship, defeating Riordan 41-16.

Oakridge mall opens, built on the 31-acre Mabie Ranch property.

Santa Clara County supervisors purchase more than 3,600 acres of the Almaden Quicksilver mining property for a new park. Future land purchases will bring the park to more than 4,100 acres.

Almaden Quicksilver County Park is dedicated.

Almaden Winery closes. In operation since the 1850s, the winery is one of the longest operating vineyards in California.

Santa Clara County light-rail line begins operation in the Almaden and Blossom Valley corridor.

Highway 85 corridor is completed. The route offers some relief from growing congestion in the Almaden Valley.

Boulder Ridge Golf Course opens on a 202-acre hilltop site above Almaden Lake Park.

At a cost of $17.5 million, the 60,000-square-foot Almaden Library and Community Center is completed.

Casa Grande, a red brick classic revival-style mansion built in 1854 as an office and residence for mine managers at the New Almaden mine, is awarded $75,000 in restoration funds. This is part of an estimated $3 million to $4 million project to restore the building and grounds to its original appearance.

Almaden Feed & Fuel building, a former stagecoach stop on the road to New Almaden in the 1890s, is designated a “structure of merit” by the Historic Landmarks Commission. When the business closes in 2006, designated parts of the building are ordered saved and must be incorporated into a new housing development.