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Photograph of New Almaden
Photograph by Carleton Watkins, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Casa Grande

A National Historic Landmark. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. 11 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1916.

From the record

“New Almaden, known in Spanish as Nuevo Almadén, is a historic community and former mercury mine in the Capitancillos Hills of San Jose, California, located at the southwestern point of Almaden Valley in South San Jose. New Almaden is divided into two parts: the mines and much of their immediate surroundings, including historic ghost town settlements in the Capintancillas, which together form the Almaden Quicksilver County Park; and the largely residential historic district surrounding the Casa Grande.”

Wikipedia article New Almaden, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 117 National Register listings published here for Santa Clara County · listed in 1966 · category: Building · a National Historic Landmark.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • National Historic Landmark. The highest federal designation, held by about 2,600 places in the country against roughly 100,000 Register listings.
  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 6 buildingss as contributing to the listing.
  • Still standing. The Park Service records this property as extant.
  • Address. 14 mi. S of San Jose on CR G8, San Jose, 95120
  • When was it listed? October 1966
  • Category. building
  • Census division. San Jose
  • National Register reference number. 66000236 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1916 to 1978

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 62 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Casa Grande, surveyed 1978
Topographic sheet covering Casa Grande, surveyed 1916

Fires near this property

104 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 104 fires within 5 miles of Casa Grande between 1992 and 2018, burning about 1,667 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 12 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined44
Equipment and vehicle use29
Arson/incendiarism12
Debris and open burning5
Misuse of fire by a minor5
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Smoking2
Natural1
Firearms and explosives use1
Railroad operations and maintenance1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
5 September 1994Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSanta Clara UnitHICKS
4 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Clara UnitGUADALUPE RESERVOIR ALM 4
30 September 2012Firearms and explosives useunder an acreSanta Clara UnitHICKS
3 September 1998Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSanta Clara UnitBANKOSH
3 September 1997Smokingunder an acreSanta Clara UnitLAGO VISTA
28 September 1996Missing data/not specified/undetermined23 acresSanta Clara UnitSANTA TERESA PARK
27 September 1997Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Clara UnitSCENIC VISTA
25 September 2012Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreSanta Clara UnitREYNOLDS

Every fire recorded in Santa Clara County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 75 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 75 workings within 5 miles of Casa Grande: 39 past producers, 15 producers, 13 prospects, 4 occurrences. 15 still produce. What was taken out: Mercury, Chromium, Calcium, Stone. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Bernal MineMercury, Limestone, GeneralPast Producer
New AlmadenCopperProducer
New Almaden DistrictMercury, Stone, Dimension, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Chromium, Copper, ManganesePast Producer1824
Unnamed LocationManganeseProspect
Permanente Metals Corp.Stone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Permanente Metals Corp.Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed LocationStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Unnamed LocationStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
Winfield PitStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
BernalCalciumProducer

Every working recorded in Santa Clara County

Storms near this property

33 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names San Jose, the town this property stands in, in 33 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 19 flood, 6 hail, 4 flash flood, 3 lightning. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
October 2016FloodSan Jose1 hurtOne person was reported possibly trapped inside a car on northbound Highway 280 south of the 87 connector near the Reed Street offramp before 6 a.m. 10/27, according to the CHP and San Jose firefighters. ||Http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Slow-Down-Accidents-Abound-in-Bay-Area-as-Rain-Pelts-Highways-399016231.html.
December 1997Tornado (F0)San Jose$20,000weak tornado damaged some trailers in a trailer park. Minor damage to a few trailers.
February 2014Flash FloodSan Jose$500Several inches of standing water covering all lanes near Interstate 280 and Highway 87.
January 2024FloodSan Jose$10Standing water approximately 6 inches deep was reported on the offramp from Northbound Interstate 280 to Bird Avenue.
January 2024FloodSan Jose-Flooding was reported on southbound Interstate 280 north of California Highway 87 and on the ramp to Highway 87.
February 2024FloodSan Jose-Flooding was reported in the number 3 and 4 lanes of northbound Interstate 280 just south of California Highway 87.
March 2021FloodSan Jose-Roadway flooding northbound 280 & 87 due to heavy rain.
January 2021FloodSan Jose-Roadway flooding at I-280 S and SR-87 connector, approximately 8 inches of water in road.
January 2020FloodSan Jose-Roadway flooding on SR-87 N and I-280 connector. Standing water in north bound and south bound lanes.
August 2020LightningSan Jose-Lightning struck two houses in San Jose, setting one on fire https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/08/16/lightning-from-rare-bay-area-thunderstorm-leaves-damage-in-its-wake/. Amount of damage unknown.
January 2019FloodSan Jose-All lanes flooded on connecting ramp of I 280N and SR 87.
February 2019HailSan Jose-Spotter reports slightly larger than pea-sized hail near 101-280/680.
March 2019LightningSan Jose-A thunderstorm over San Jose produced small accumulating hail and lightning. Circ De Sole in San Jose was canceled due to lightning.
March 2019HailSan Jose-Accumulating hail reported in San Jose.
March 2019HailSan Jose-Multiple reports of small accumulating hail.
March 2019LightningSan Jose-Video on social media showing lightning striking a transformer causing it to explode.
April 2018FloodSan Jose-Roadway flooding reported on SB-87 to SB-280 connecting ramp.
January 2018HailSan Jose-BB sized hail.
January 2018FloodSan Jose-Roadway flooding reported at I280 S and 10th Street off ramp.
March 2018HailSan Jose-Small hail reprted on I-87 in San Jose.
April 2018HailSan Jose-Small hail reported at San Jose State University.
January 2017FloodSan Jose-Roadway flooding along hwy 280.
February 2017FloodSan Jose-Multiple homes flooded in the San Jose Nordale area at Senter and Phelan.
February 2017FloodSan Jose-All lanes flooded SR 87 southbound jno Park Ave off ramp.
October 2016FloodSan Jose-Even as the sun began to break through as the rain eased up, drivers discovered flooded roads. One full lane of Senter Road across from San Jose's Kelley Park was impassable. Despite a warning sign, some big rigs and smaller vehicles plowed through the small lake anyway.||Http://abc7news.com/weather/heavy-rain-drenches-south-bay-/1578706/.
December 2016FloodSan Jose-Roadway flooding reported on US 101 NB to NB 680.
December 2016FloodSan Jose-Roadway flooding reported on I280N to SR87 connecting ramp.
February 2015FloodSan Jose-Roadway flooding on Northbound Interstate 280 at the North Bird Ave off ramp.
December 2014FloodSan Jose-Flooding blocks left lane of Northbound CA 87 connector ramp to Northbound Interstate 280 in San Jose.
February 2014FloodSan Jose-Roadway flooding reported on Walters Road.
February 1998Flash FloodSan Jose-Guadalupe River at Blossom Hill Blvd.
February 1998Flash FloodSan Jose-Ross Creek at Cherry street.
February 1998Flash FloodSan Jose-Coyote Creek at Edenvale

Every storm recorded in Santa Clara County

Maps showing this location

11 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

2 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Hayes Mansion5.8 miles1975
We and Our Neighbors Clubhouse7.6 miles1978

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 66000236 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Santa Clara CountyAll 117 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.