Almaden in San Jose in Santa Clara County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Mercury Storage Vault

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, November 17, 2011

1. Mercury Storage Vault Marker

Inscription. After cleaned mercury is collected, it was placed in iron flasks for transportation to market. A flask of mercury weighs about 76 pounds when filled and a flask needs to be strong because of the density of the liquid metal.

Filled containers of mercury were valuable (worth about $720 per flask in 1965), so they were usually stored under lock and key. This “vault” (upper left illustration) was used to store mercury flasks during the last twenty years of mining. The flasks would be accumulated until a minimum lot was available to sell to a broker, usually ten flasks. The miners would load the filled flasks into a truck or car and drive them to the broker. In the last years of mining, the broker was Quicksilver Products Inc. in Burlingame, California.

In the lower left photo, Andrew Dahlgren fills flasks at New Almaden, about 1894. From Images of America: New Almaden.

Erected 2011 by The California State Society, Daughters of the American Revolution and New Almaden Quicksilver County Park Association.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Natural Resources. In addition, it is included in the Daughters of the American Revolution series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1894.

Location.

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37° 10.404′ N, 121° 49.574′ W. Marker is in San Jose, California, in Santa Clara County. It is in Almaden. Marker can be reached from Almaden Road. The Hacienda Mining Display is a short walk on the Deep Gulch Trail from the Almaden Quicksilver County Park parking lot. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 21731 Almaden Road, San Jose CA 95120, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Hoeing Table and Cleaning Tank (here, next to this marker); Shaker-Concentrator (here, next to this marker); D Retort and Condensing System (here, next to this marker); Cornish Pump (here, next to this marker); Hacienda Mining Display (a few steps from this marker); Gould Rotary Furnace and Condensing System (a few steps from this marker); Skip Loader (a few steps from this marker); Mine Air Compressors (a few steps from this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Jose.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, November 17, 2011

2. Mercury Storage Vault Marker

The mercury storage vault is behind the hoeing table.

Mercury Storage Vault image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, November 17, 2011

3. Mercury Storage Vault

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, November 17, 2011

4. Mercury Storage Vault

Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 26, 2011, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 773 times since then and 56 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 26, 2011, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.