Almaden was originally inhabited by the
Tamien nation of
Ohlone people, prior to the arrival of the
Spanish. The Ohlone had long utilized the area for its
cinnabar, which they used for paint production. During the Mexican era, the area of what is now Almaden was divided between two
rancho grants:
Rancho San Vicente, granted to
José de los Reyes Berryessa, and
Rancho Los Capitancillos, granted to Justo Larios.
Rancho Cañada de los Capitancillos and Rancho Cañada de Oro were later divided from these original ranchos.
Nuevo Almadén , shown in 1852 Almaden Valley's origins go back to the early 1800s in what is now its southernmost neighborhood, known as
New Almaden (Spanish:
Nuevo Almadén). In the 1820s, there were several attempts by local
Californio officials from the
Pueblo of San José to mine the area for silver, including an 1824 venture led by Don
Antonio Suñol, a prominent local figure, and Luis Chaboya, of
Rancho Yerba Buena.
Quicksilver (mercury) was only successfully identified in 1845, by Mexican cavalry captain Andrés Castillero, who was able to obtain a grant to mine the area by Governor
Pío Pico. with his father-in-law Éthienne Thée, using vine cuttings from his native France. Following
Prohibition, the winery and the company had great success with their blush wine and the White Grenache Rosé, one of the first popular pink wines in the United States. Almaden Vineyards has since moved its winery to
Madera, California, while the historic remains of the property are now known as the
Old Almaden Winery, which serves as a public park and
California Historic Landmark. Beginning in the late 1800s, Almaden was home to the Graystone Quarry (originally the
Goodrich Quarry), one of the most significant quarries in the Bay Area, used in the construction of landmarks including
San Francisco City Hall,
Stanford University,
Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, among numerous others. Today, the area where Graystone Quarry once existed and where the Pfeiffer family once lived is occupied by the neighborhood of
Pfeiffer, also known as,
the Graystone of Almaden, thus named after the quarry's stone master Jacob Pfeiffer and the Quarry.
20th century neighborhood of Almaden Valley In December 1959, the
Regents of the University of California selected Almaden Valley to be the site of the next campus of the
University of California system. Unfortunately, news of this decision caused property values in the area to increase so rapidly that the Regents could no longer afford to buy the needed land. Calero Lake was created in 1935, when Arroyo Calero was dammed. In 1975, the New Almaden mines closed after 135 years of operation.
Santa Clara County Parks subsequently purchased the vast property surrounding the mines, in order to transform it into a regional park.
Almaden Quicksilver County Park opened a few years later after an extensive cleanup of the area. It was declared a
National Historic Landmark and a
California Historical Landmark. ==Geography==