The Sulphur Bank Mine is located near Clearlake Oaks and Clear Lake in Lake County , California . The 150-acre (0.61 km) mine became one of the most noted mercury producers in the world.
95-607: During the 150 years since the Sulphur Bank was discovered, the area has drawn geologists, inspired unique scientific theories, established constitutional case law and now attracts environmental scientists who study the impact of mercury contamination within the Cache Creek watershed of northern California and the Sacramento River-Delta Region and San Francisco Bay . Beginning in 1856, the mine
190-522: A bright red mercury ore, was used by the Ohlone people for paint, but the settlers soon saw its potential to produce quicksilver. The first settler to find the mine was Secundino Robles, who discovered it in 1824, and later owned shares in the mine along with his brother. Andres Castillero, a captain in the Mexican Army, obtained a grant to the mine in 1846 but, occupied with his military duties during
285-456: A canyon (joining Sulphur Creek near Wilbur Springs ) until it meets Route 20. It then runs east in parallel with Route 20 for a few miles, and turns south, again cutting through a canyon following State Route 16 in Colusa and Yolo Counties. Meanwhile, Cache Creek cuts south-east between Cache Creek Ridge (on its north bank) and Little Blue Ridge (south bank), joining Bear Creek at Route 16 near
380-413: A cinnabar hill where Indians gathered pigment for paint, while #339-1 is near Arroyo de los Alamitos Creek where the actual mining of ore first occurred. There is also a museum adjacent at the site. Almaden Quicksilver County Park is a 4,147 acre (17 km ) park that includes the grounds of former mercury ("quicksilver") mines . The park's elevation varies greatly: the most used entrances (on
475-592: A decade later and was second only to the New Almaden mine in production. Another account of the discovery of cinnabar in the same region is contained in the December 1861 edition of Scientific American magazine. “There has been recently opened an extensive cinnabar vein, in Napa County, which promises to be rich. This was discovered by John Newman, of Pope’s Valley. The cinnabar was discovered by means of
570-617: A lawsuit filed by Katrryn Plumer, of Brooklyn alleging Boggess, Reed, and others had defrauded her of her 1897 investment in the mines. In addition, a July 17, 1902 article related a series of complex stock manipulations involving the Empire Consolidated Quicksilver Mining Company. There is no evidence how Plumer's claim was resolved, but the millions of dollars allegedly on or under the table boiled down to $ 750 in cash by 1903. “United States Marshal Henkel sold by auction yesterday 379,985 shares of
665-578: A legal settlement of approximately US$ 6,750,822 for restoration projects. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the US Fish and Wildlife Service issued an environmental restoration plan for the area in 2008. The mineralized area in the Almaden mining district where the New Almaden and the nearby Guadalupe mine are located is within the large Franciscan Assemblage associated with
760-626: A mining engineer and amateur botanist , who lived in Alameda in 1910 and San Francisco by 1920. How he came into possession of the property and surrounding acreage is unclear. Walter W. Bradley's report on quicksilver mining in California lists Ruddock as the owner of Sulphur Bank by 1918 and that Ruddock had the mine under lease to an H.W. Gould. State mineralogist W.W. Bradley indicated Sulphur Bank had not been worked or de-watered since 1906. The old Empire Consolidated Quicksilver Mining Company
855-569: A month before her 100th birthday. Worthen Bradley was born Frederick Worthen Bradley but used Worthen as his first name. A son, Frederick Worthen Bradley, an attorney, is now the president of the Bradley Mining Company. The Sulphur Bank Mine and Rancho Solfatara are held by the company and the Worthen Bradley Trust. The mine currently consists of mine tailings , waste rock and a flooded open pit mine (known as
950-525: A process known as bio-accumulation , the integration of mercury into the creek caused increased levels of the element in organisms within the creek. If consumed, accumulation of high mercury levels within organisms, particularity fish, may induce harm to the nervous systems of unborn babies and young children. Water quality studies conducted by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board and
1045-734: A result of an earthquake shock Tuesday night. The water has continued to fall some since that date and in some places it is dry. Upon investigation by the officials of the Water Company it was found that a landslide had dammed the Creek near the Leonard ranch in Lake county.... The creek subsequently broke through, causing severe flooding in Rumsey. From 1800s to the mid 1900s, mercury was mined free of environmental regulation causing an influx of
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#17327909604151140-745: A settling basin east of Woodland . If the Sacramento river is not in flood then any overflow runs into the Tule Canal , continues as Prospect Slough and finally enters the Sacramento River at Cache Slough . If the Sacramento is in flood, then the overflow from the settling basin is swept into the Yolo Bypass and Sacramento Bypass flood control system, emerging directly at Cache Slough . Water rights and flooding protection have been in dispute between Yolo and Lake Counties since
1235-686: A staff report that acknowledged the continued increase of mercury in Cache Creek, and determined that 12 percent of the source were old mercury mines located near major tributaries such as: North Fork Cache Creek, Clear Lake outflow, Bear Creek , Harley Gulch, and Davis Creek. Reports like this led to protocols set in place to monitor the mercury levels within Cache Creek and warn the public of possible health concerns from fish consumption. In 2017, The Department of Environmental Science and Policy from UC Davis, in consultation with The Yolo County Cache Creek Technical Advisory Committee, proposed revisions to
1330-598: A stockholder in the X.L.C.R. (pronounced "excelsior") mine, is the only known source of the often-repeated tale of Seth Dunham and L.D. Jones discovering cinnabar in a road cut of the Barryessa–Lower Lake Road (now Morgan Valley Road) in what became known as the Knoxville mining district, about a dozen miles southeast of the Sulphur Bank in present-day Napa County. The X.L.C.R. became known as the Redington mine
1425-781: A tunneling operation. Three shafts and a series of lateral tunnels known as drifts comprised the underground works. The shafts were known as the Hermann, the Fiedler and the Parrott. From historical documents it appears only the Wagon-Spring Cut and Bath-house Cut (open pits) and the Parrott shaft were used for mining until 1880. By 1881 the other two shafts were also in place, one of which reached 260 feet (79 m). Bath-House and Parrott flooded then and were not further used. "At Sulphur Bank tunnels were used in developing and mining
1520-641: A wine estate, near the township of St. Helena, California. There he became closely associated with the German-born Beringer Brothers : Frederick and Jacob. Tiburcio Parrott died in 1894. In 1901, the Sulphur Bank mine was sold to a group of New York bankers. By 1902, Sulphur Bank mine was operating as the Empire Consolidated Quicksilver Company and a new shaft, the Empire, was sunk. Riley A. Bogges
1615-529: Is a California Historical Landmark (#428). Sulphur Bank Mine became an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) superfund site in 1990. Although the hot springs of the Sulphur Bank contained borax, the search led John Allen Veatch to nearby Borax Lake where the California Borax Company established the first commercial borax mining operation in the U.S. beginning in 1860 and ceasing in 1868. The company established land claims to Borax Lake,
1710-683: 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
1805-541: Is a matter of some estimation. The History of Lake County 1881 puts production at 12,341 flasks in the two-years 1874–1876. Walter W. Bradley, state mineralogist, estimated total output to 1918 at 92,400 flasks. The mine was only sporadically worked after 1883, so the majority of the output can be attributed to the Parrott era. The township of Eastlake was established next to the mine. The mining superintendent, Ferdinand Fiedler listed his address at Eastlake as did assistant superintendent, J.E. Tucker. The German-born Fiedler
1900-434: Is cinnabar; other sulfides are present in small quantities. Mining, other than a single placer deposit of cinnabar, was underground. There is a high probability of undiscovered high-grade ore which could be found and exploited using modern techniques. The entrances to the mines are closed off. After being identified as a Superfund site and after subsequent containment activities, the mining area can now be visited as part of
1995-511: Is derived from the Arabic language . In 1863, acting on information that title to the mine had not been proven, Abraham Lincoln attempted to seize the mine, but the federal agent and deputy federal marshal were met at the mine gates by armed miners. Mindful of the possibility of losing the loyalty of California during the Civil War, the federal government backed off and Barron, Forbes Company
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#17327909604152090-481: Is located to the north of the mine, and critical habitat for three endangered species of wildlife, the peregrine falcon , southern bald eagle , and yellow-billed cuckoo , is less than a quarter-mile from the site. The mine site has been implicated by the EPA in mercury pollution of Clear Lake, but the allegations are disputed by Bradley Mining Company, the last and current owner of the mine. The discovery of mercury in
2185-600: Is no known connection between Bradley Mining Company and Walter Wadsworth Bradley, who would become the California State Mineralogist. Frederick's father, Henry Sewall Bradley came to California to work the gold fields, became a land surveyor instead, and died in 1881 when Frederick Bradley was midway through his education at the University of California. Frederick Bradley dropped out of school, borrowed $ 5,000 and took over ownership/management of
2280-705: Is then dammed by the Indian Valley Reservoir . It then flows south along New Long Valley Road, and turns east along State Route 20 , which it crosses at the Cache Creek Recreation Area . Cache Creek runs north-east from the dam, behind Perkins Creek Ridge and over The Jams Waterfall before joining the North Fork about 2 miles east of the bridge over Route 20. Bear Creek starts in Bear Valley and runs south through
2375-408: Is used primarily by Solano County . The 474 foot long, 15 foot high concrete dam was constructed in 1914. In 1994 its apron was raised with a 5-foot high inflatable bladder (the "longest in the world"), which can be raised or lowered in 30 minutes. It underwent substantial repairs starting in 2009. From the early 1800s to much of the 1900s, mining for elemental mercury, also known as quicksilver ,
2470-539: Is water storage for irrigation , but a 3.3 MW hydroelectric plant was built to take advantage of the falling water. The Capay Diversion Dam, west of Capay , diverts water for distribution throughout Yolo County using a 175-mile (280 km) network of canals . For example, water is pumped into the Winters Canal, which runs south and ends in a reservoir near Winters. This feeds into Willows Canal, which runs east for miles alongside Putah Creek —the water of which
2565-583: The Casa Grande (big house) at 21350 Almaden Road in New Almaden. La Casa Grande, an 1854 revival-style mansion designed and built by architect Francis Myers, was the official residence and office of the mine superintendents, as well as a country retreat for wealthy mine investors. The mansion now serves as the site of the New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum, which contains exhibits about the history of mercury mining and
2660-493: The Coast Range . Quicksilver ore deposited by hydrothermal deposition of cinnabar from deep within the earth is found in a gangue of silica-carbonate rock formed locally by hydrothermal alteration of serpentine . The Guadalupe mine produced about 10% as much mercury as the New Almaden. There are several smaller mines in the mining district, but their ore production was not significant. The only significant quicksilver ore
2755-579: The Guadalupe Reservoir ; adjacent to the park is the Almaden Reservoir . The Casa Grande Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum is located nearby. In the period 1976 to 1978 the county developed a number of new large parks in rapid succession including Grant Ranch Park , Sanborn Park and Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Very soon after buying the mining property in 1976, Santa Clara County began planning for park usage, in an era where
2850-556: The Mendocino National Forest north of Clear Lake, and dammed by the Indian Valley Reservoir ); and Bear Creek (starting in Bear Valley ). The Capay Diversion Dam, west of Capay , diverts water for distribution throughout Yolo County using a network of canals . At the end of the Capay Valley , near Esparto , Cache Creek runs east into Sacramento Valley , ending in a settling basin east of Woodland ,
2945-615: The National Priorities List (NPL) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act or CERCLA. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry was also established by CERCLA under the federal Department of Health and Human Services . The Registry assesses the health hazards and risks at contaminated sites and makes recommendations reducing those hazards. The mine site has been proposed for listing on
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3040-548: The Santa Clara County Almaden Quicksilver County Park. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. By the time Santa Clara County bought the mines in 1976 and ended operations, 1,137,727 flasks totaling 83,974,076 pounds (38,090 metric tons) of mercury (worth more than US$ 70 million) had been extracted. The remains of a variety of structures left over from the 135 years of mining activity, including housing for
3135-514: The Tuscan Lakes area of Italy . The California Borax Company did engage in sulfur mining at Sulphur Bank (extracting 2 million pounds in 4 years) for a time before the company's collapse in 1868 and the sulfur was discovered to be contaminated with cinnabar . Between the time of Veatch's discovery and the working of sulfur, a minor mining excitement led to the discovery of cinnabar in the northern reaches of Napa County (of which Lake County
3230-414: The 1950s) adjoining the mine. Rancho Solfatara was used first for stock raising to feed 100 resident miners during World War II . During the war the demand for quicksilver skyrocketed because of its use in detonators in munitions . Worthen Bradley died at age 55 in 1959. Helen Pope Bradley, who wed Worthen in 1929, engaged in raising show stock, known as Hereford cattle in 1943. Helen lived until 2006,
3325-646: The Bradleys’ interest in the Sulphur Bank mine was generated by a rise in the price of quicksilver. During the Depression years of the 1930s the mine was active or inactive, dependent upon the price, he told a local newspaper in 1955. “We are trying to do with one shovel and two shifts, what we did with several in World War II," Bradley said in 1955. “We are still in the stage of getting started and hope to begin plant operation this month, September. Unfortunately
3420-508: The Colusa mines are only partly developed,” the paper reported on October 11, 1901. The article lists the buyers as bankers William Dowe, William Kimball, William Scherer, and iron monger Henry Adams as director. The deal began to unravel a year later. The broker of the first deal, John T. Reed, won a suit against Boggess, the Times reported July 25, 1902, and in the July 6 edition, the paper noted
3515-655: The East and secured the names of prominent New York capitalists for directors. The new company purchased the Sulphur Banks and the Abbott mines in Lake county, and the Central and Empire mines in Colusa county. The mines were never opened, and the stockholders’ money was wasted. The record of the Sulphur Banks since has been constant litigation and abandoned works, but it is believed by many that rich ore still exists there,” as
3610-660: The February 1878 issue of Scribner's Monthly . New Almaden also features prominently in her memoir A Victorian Gentlewoman in the Far West , which was later fictionalized by Wallace Stegner in his novel Angle of Repose . Mining operations resulted in mercury pollution of the Guadalupe River and South San Francisco Bay , impacting birds and aquatic species. In 2005 the responsible parties, which include private companies and local government agencies, agreed to
3705-484: The Herman Impoundment or Herman Pit). Approximately two million cubic yards of mine wastes and tailings remain on the site. The Herman pit, which is filled with acidic water, covers 23 acres (93,000 m) to a depth of 90 feet (27 m) and is located 750 feet (230 m) upslope of Clear Lake. The Elem Tribal Colony of Pomo Indians is located directly adjacent to the mine property. A freshwater wetland
3800-635: The Mexican War, soon sold it to Barron, Forbes Company, an English textile firm based in Tepic, Mexico. It was named "Nueva Almaden" by Alexander Forbes. Castillero's mining claim was confirmed by the Board of Commissioners that evaluated private land claims in California on January 8, 1856, but there was continued litigation in the District court, The United States vs. Andres Castillero. A claim of fraud
3895-632: The NPL since 1988 and the Registry published its report the next year, concluding Sulphur Bank Mine is a public health hazard. ( See also Mercury poisoning . ) In 1990, the EPA began studies on the flooded pit, waste rock piles, lake sediments and a nearby wetland. The EPA completed an emergency remediation in 1992, where the slope of mine tailings was cut back along the shoreline, covered with clean soil and reseeded. The agency states that more than 32 acres (130,000 m) of waste rock had been deposited into
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3990-601: The Solano Decree Yolo currently holds appropriative rights for up to 150,000 acre-feet (190,000,000 m ) per year from Clear Lake, and all the water from the Indian Valley dam. The Cache Creek Dam on the South Fork of Cache Creek, five miles (8 km) downstream from Clear Lake , was built to increase Clear Lake's capacity and to regulate outflow for downstream users of Cache Creek water. The dam
4085-478: The Sulphur Bank and Sulphur Springs in Colusa County. The officers of the California Borax Company included physicians Veatch, William Ayers and Robert Oxland; and lawyers Henry Halleck, Archibald Peachy, Frederick Billings and Solomon Heydenfeldt . The fascination with borax resulted from the fact that boric acid was critical as a flux in metal working. All borax at that time was imported, mostly from
4180-567: The U.S. Geological Survey from 1994-2001 confirmed Cache Creek as a major source contributing to mercury level spikes in the Sacramento River. Since then, multiple studies have been conducted to pinpoint the mines that are still releasing quicksilver, and the course the element has traveled to measure the extent of the issue. In 2004, the California Environmental Protection Agency published
4275-420: The appearance of an abandoned hydraulic mine . Boggess, often spelled as Bogges, (the 1900 census gives the spelling as Boggess ) got the mine mired in court battles in the state of New York, where he also lined up his investors. “Riley A. Boggess had been connected with the mine, and in 1901 he promoted the formation of the Empire Consolidated Quicksilver Mining Company, floated a considerable amount of stock in
4370-511: The area as the federally protected Cache Creek Wilderness . Cache Creek Conservancy has restored a 130-acre Cache Creek Nature Preserve area downstream in the watershed. Whitewater boating on Cache Creek includes kayaking , rafting, canoeing and innertubing which are popular in the summer using the water released from the dams for downstream agriculture. Nominally a tributary of the Sacramento River , Cache Creek now only reaches it during extremely wet years due to damming and diversion of
4465-406: The county parks program was aggressively expanding. The county parks director envisioned a historic park where visitors could experience the mining past and also enjoy the biodiversity of the natural setting. Facilities plans were created and an Environmental Impact Report was prepared. Principal issues assessed in the park proposal: The New Almaden Quicksilver Mining Museum is located in
4560-411: The dumps in sight and some over the hill on the north side, have concentratable values in cinnabar. The material can be cheaply excavated with a steam shovel and transported to the mill by motor trucks, as it will have to be moved distances up to mile and raised to the top of the mill bin,” Bradley reported. Whether the plan for mining exclusively by open-pit methods proceeded is uncertain but that method
4655-452: The east side of the park) are less than 600 feet (183 m) above sea level , while the highest point in the park is over 1,700 feet (518 m) above sea level. During the coldest storms of the winter season, it is not uncommon for the high summits to receive a light dusting of snow (which usually melts by noon). The park is owned and managed by the County of Santa Clara and its grounds also include
4750-555: The element within Cache Creek. In 2001, the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board and the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed that Cache Creek was a contributor to the increase of mercury levels within the Sacramento River . Since then, various regulations have been enacted to monitor the mercury levels in Cache Creek, and multiple studies have been conducted to find the site of contamination. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment released an advisory regarding eating fish caught from this creek based on
4845-585: The existing Spanish mine on the south fork of the Yuba River, setting a record for low-cost ore production. He was inducted into the Mining Hall of Fame in 1988. By 1893, Frederick Bradley assumed management (but not ownership) of the Bunker Hill lead mine, near Coeur d' Alene, Idaho . Between 1894 and 1904 Bradley made the money-losing low-grade ore profitable but at the cost of a civil war between
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#17327909604154940-465: The existing protocols. The revision proposal called for yearly monitoring of off channel wet pits for five years, given they may explain additional sources of mercury within the creek. As well as a monitoring of these pits every other year for 10 years once the reclamation process is completed A large part of the creek within Lake County is designated a Wildlife Area by the state of California and
5035-489: The federal Bureau of Land Management , on which vehicles are prohibited but hiking, primitive camping, and hunting are allowed. The North Fork and Bear Creek each host a growing population of the rare tule elk , plus winter populations of bald eagles . The ruggedness of the area tends to ensure its isolation from human activity. In 2006 the United States Congress designated 27,245 acres (110 km ) of
5130-473: The fires which are made to burn off the chaparral,” the magazine reported. Newman became a stockholder of the Phoenix mine in that location. These early discoveries of mercury-bearing ores did not become viable mercury producers until 1872, when the price of mercury and improved smelting methods resulted in the establishment of many mines in Lake and Napa counties. In 1873, the defunct California Borax Company
5225-535: The fish of Clear Lake was accidental. The California Department of Fish and Game 's biologist, Larry Week was testing fish samples in 1976 for DDD , a close relative of the pesticide DDT , and discovered high levels of mercury in fish tissue. During the next decade, various state and federal agencies conducted tests of the lake and mine site resulting in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placing Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine in 1990 on
5320-457: The history of Mendocino and Lake Counties summarized events. The summary appears reasonably accurate based on New York Times reports: “A big deal in California quicksilver mines was made today when New York capitalists bought for $ 1,000,000 the Sulphur Bank and Abbot mines in Lake County and Empire and Central, in Colusa County, which are among the largest producers in the world. From the first two mines $ 2,000,000 in quicksilver has been taken but
5415-467: The junction of Lake, Colusa and Yolo counties. The combined Cache Creek continues in the canyon until it emerges north of Rumsey in Capay Valley . The Capay Diversion Dam, west of Capay , diverts water for distribution throughout Yolo County using a 175-mile (280 km) network of canals . At the end of the Capay Valley near Esparto Cache Creek runs east into Sacramento Valley , ending in
5510-405: The lake, and piled up along the shore. The book History of Lake County 1881 gives more detail: "The debris is drawn from the bottom of the furnance about every two hours and is wheeled to the far-distant dump on the lake shore." Other EPA cleanup actions included an earthen dam built between the flooded acidic open pit (called the Herman Impoundment after one of the mining shafts named Herman) and
5605-548: The largely residential historic district surrounding the Casa Grande. Discovered in the 1820s by Mexican settlers, New Almaden mines are the oldest mines in California and were one of the most productive mercury mines in the country. Long before the arrival of the Spanish, Mexicans, and Americans, the indigenous Ohlone people had long utilized the area for its cinnabar , which they used in paint production. Cinnabar ,
5700-453: The late 19th century. The Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District ("Yolo") has "an 1855 priority right to divert the natural flow of Cache Creek, and 1912 priority right to store waters in Clear Lake to elevation 7.56 feet Rumsey Gauge for later release and beneficial use." Various decrees attempt to ensure a balance between the needs of the two counties, although high-water conditions can cause temporary disagreements. Under
5795-404: The mercury level. Cache Creek has two main tributaries: North Fork, and Bear Creek . Cache Creek begins at the south-east end of Clear Lake (for which it is the outlet), flowing east to the dam which now controls the level of Clear Lake. The North Fork begins in Lake County in the Mendocino National Forest north of Upper Lake. It flows east, where it is joined by Bartlett Creek , and
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#17327909604155890-433: The mine and surrounding 700 acres (2.8 km). The mine was operated under the name, Sulphur Bank Syndicate, but eventually operated as the Bradley Mining Company. Worthen Bradley, Frederick's son, became assistant superintendent of the mine soon after he was graduated at the University of California, Berkeley in 1926. He eventually served as president of the Bradley Mining Company. In later years, Worthen Bradley recalled
5985-435: The mine. Only a few of the white miners were born in the United States. Immigrants from Sweden and Norway constituted the bulk of the European miners. A few of the miners were Irish born as were two Mexicans. Most of the miners had no families present but some of the managers had families and children living at Eastlake. None of the Chinese miners had families present. The quicksilver mine was partially an open pit and partially
6080-463: The mining company and the Western Federation of Miners union. Testimony at the 1906 murder trial of Big Bill Haywood, the union treasurer disclosed the two assassination attempts on Bradley in San Francisco in 1904. Bradley then went off to Alaska to turn two money-losing gold operations into profitable ventures. Mt. Bradley in Alaska is named for him. Bradley Mining Company first optioned Sulphur Bank mercury mine from Ruddock in 1927 and then purchased
6175-458: The ore just under and in the basalt capping. In depth, development and mining proceeded through shallow shafts. Operations from any one shaft were carried on until the hot water and gas made conditions intolerable, when the shaft was abandoned and a new one was sunk a short distance away." Curt Schuette, the author of the US Bureau of Mines bulletin #335 observed. The cinnabar ore, known also as mercury sulfide (84 parts mercury to 16 parts sulfur),
6270-461: The overflow of which runs into the Sacramento River through a flood control canal. In addition to the recreational use of Clear Lake and Indian Valley Reservoir there are numerous trail-heads, parks and campgrounds, including the Bear Valley wildflower hotspot. Bear Creek and Cache Creek run in a scenic canyon along State Route 16 in Colusa and Yolo county, including the Cache Creek Regional Park . Cache Creek provides white-water rafting, both in
6365-405: The path of at least three hot springs at the site. The mercury was shipped in iron flasks weighing about 90 pounds each and containing 76.5 pounds of mercury. The closest rail service was 45 miles (72 km) away in Calistoga. The wagon trip over the crest of Mt Saint Helena via the Lawley Toll Road to the rail head could take a week or more. Just how much mercury was shipped from Sulphur Bank
6460-449: The price of quicksilver dropped to $ 25 per flask from a high in 1874 of $ 120. The Sulphur Bank Quicksilver Mining Company was bankrupt by 1883. Tiburcio Parrot's biographer states the company's stock went into default, which suggests the stock was pledged against loans to cover operating expenses. Who the creditors were or to whom the mine was sold is unknown. A specialized census report indicates 2,283 flasks were produced there in 1890, which
6555-408: The quicksilver market has declined somewhat since we began work,” The Sulphur Bank mercury mine closed permanently in 1957. Frederick Worthen Bradley, the founder of the company, died in 1933. The son, Worthen then took over operation of the mine and developed a summer estate known as Rancho Solfatara on 800 acres (the mine included 700 acres (2.8 km). Another 100 acres (0.40 km) was added in
6650-421: The river from construction of new dams or diversions. Assembly member Lois Wolk introduced AB 1328 in 2005 which received support as well as opposition. New dam construction on Cache Creek was under consideration in 2002 by the Yolo County Water District, the agency that had built the Indian Valley Dam and the present dam on Cache Creek. New Almaden New Almaden , known in Spanish as Nueva Almadén ,
6745-456: The shoreline in 1996, a 4,000-foot (1,200 m) pipeline to divert surface water runoff away from the pit in 1999, and contaminated soil removal from the adjacent Elem Indian Colony in 1997. Cache Creek (Sacramento River) Cache Creek is an 87-mile-long (140 km) stream in Lake , Colusa and Yolo counties, California . Cache Creek starts at the outlet of Clear Lake . It has two main tributaries: North Fork (starting in
6840-465: The spring when it is flooded, and through the summer using the agricultural water flow. The entire area south of Route 20 and west of Route 16 is a wildlife preserve, hosting two herds of Tule Elk . The name of the water body comes from Hudson's Bay Company trappers who cached their furs along the Sacramento River and smaller tributaries, one of which became known to them as Cache Creek. One of their camps, recognized by early settlers as French Camp,
6935-497: The stock of the Empire Consolidated Quicksilver Mining Company, which was bid in for $ 750 by William Hughes of 100 Nassau Street. The stock was seized ... to satisfy a judgement ... against Riley A. Boggess. The stock had been pledged with the North American Trust Company to secure loans. ... ” The Times reported April 21, 1903. The Sulphur Bank mercury mine next became the possession of George T. Ruddock,
7030-488: The stream means that it takes a very long time to drain excess flow from Clear Lake, increasing the chance of flooding around the lake. The bottleneck is seen as a backup to prevent flooding downstream and Yolo County is prohibited from increasing the capacity of the channel by the Gopcevic and Bemmerly Decrees. The Indian Valley dam on the North Fork of Cache Creek forms Indian Valley Reservoir . The dam's primary purpose
7125-520: The stream's water. Degradation of the channel caused by invasive plants , such as Arundo donax and Tamarix spp., as well as gravel mining has left no suitable habitat for Chinook salmon and steelhead to spawn , even if there is enough water. Consequently, there are no longer any anadromous fish species in Cache Creek. Cache Creek was added to California's Wild and Scenic Rivers System in October 2005 which protects 31 miles (50 km) of
7220-517: The up to 1,800 miners, are scattered about the park, with the biggest concentration at what was known as English Camp, established by Cornish miners in the 1860s. Some structures were built later by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and there is a memorial honoring the Civilian Conservation Corps firefighters who were stationed there for a time. Two California Historical Landmark markers honor New Almaden Mine: #339 marks
7315-460: The western United States usually includes the names of watchmen or mine personnel at the sites he studied, but no names are mentioned during his visits to Sulphur Bank. The Fiedler shaft was flooded and overflowing into Clear Lake in 1887. The mine was operated sporadically in the 1890s, evidenced by the presence of mine superintendent Richard White. John Parrott died in 1884, and his widow, Abigail inherited control of Parrott and Company. John Parrott
7410-410: Was a fraction of the output reported during the census of 1880 (10,706 flasks). The township of Eastlake, which included a dry goods store, post office and a hotel-restaurant was abandoned after the mine's closure. The mine was apparently inactive through the remainder of the 1880s. Geologist George F. Becker visited the mine several times between 1883 and 1888. Becker's survey of quicksilver mining in
7505-501: Was acquired by Tiburcio and John Parrott, William F. Babcock and Darius Ogden Mills , for the purpose of quicksilver mining at Sulphur Bank. Until 1875, when the mine shipped 5,218 flasks of mercury, it operated under the name of the borax company but then changed the name to the Sulphur Bank Quicksilver Mining Company. Tiburcio Parrott was controlling partner of the new company, and it was he who
7600-501: Was allowed to sell it to American investors for $ 1.75 million. Arthur De Wint Foote worked at New Almaden in the late 1870s under James Butterworth Randol . Representations of historical life at the New Almaden Mine were drawn in vivid detail by Mary Hallock Foote , the wife of Arthur DeWint Foote, the resident engineer from 1876. Her illustrated correspondence about New Almaden, "A California Mining Camp", appeared in
7695-464: Was an officer of Parrott and Company and was a partner with Tiburcio Parrott in an import-export company. Mills was also asset rich, founding the Bank of California, but who had stepped down as bank president by the time of the Sulphur Bank mercury mining era. It was Mills who later saved Bank of California with his personal assets when it failed under William Chapman Ralston . The period of 1875 to 1883
7790-428: Was employed a decade later when the Bradley Mining Company acquired the Sulphur Bank mercury mine. Frederick Worthen Bradley, the head and founder of the family-owned Bradley Mining Company, became both famous and infamous in 19th Century American history, unknowingly surviving two assassination attempts and setting records for low-cost ore production. His history is well documented on both the internet and print. There
7885-411: Was first worked for borax . Mining for sulfur began in 1865, and produced 2,000,000 pounds (909,090 kg) in four years. Mercury ore was mined intermittently by underground and open-pit methods from 1873 to 1957. Sulphur Bank Mine was credited with a total output of 92,400 flasks (7.02 million pounds) by 1918. The mine was an important producer during both world wars. The mine closed in 1957 and
7980-576: Was later jailed when the company refused to abide by a state law excluding Chinese from employment. Tiburcio's father, John Parrott, was a wealthy banker. Parrot and Company, of San Francisco was a major landholder and banking firm. John Parrot's weekend retreat consisted of 17,000 acres (69 km) in San Mateo County, California. John Parrot also owned 8% of the giant New Almaden quicksilver mine in Santa Clara County. Babcock
8075-463: Was later modified to include a 3 MW hydroelectric plant. The stream has a relatively small capacity, less than a quarter of the amount the dam is able to release. There is a rock ledge a mile and a half downstream of Clear Lake, called the Grigsby Riffle, near the bridge on State Route 53 . This ledge restricts the amount of water that can flow through at that point. The limited capacity of
8170-503: Was listed as owner/ general manager. “It is greatly to be regretted that the management of this property has not taken pains to preserve geological descriptions of the underground works, which are all caved in, except the Empire shaft, now in progress of sinking. The latter is so tightly timbered, owing to bad ground, that it offers no opportunity’ to study the formations through which it has passed,” wrote William Forstner, of California State Mining Bureau. He also observed that Sulphur Bank had
8265-761: Was made on behalf of the Quicksilver Mining Company, which had acquired a competing land claim originating in an agricultural claim to the land the mine was on. On appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States the claim was found invalid in a decision rendered March 10, 1863. One of the competing land claims was Rancho Los Capitancillos . The mine is named for a mercury mine in (old) Almadén , Spain , which had operated since at least Roman times. (See Heritage of Mercury. Almadén and Idrija .) The term Almadén, meaning "the mine",
8360-400: Was now headed by Riley Boggess’ wife, Emma, which still held possession of the Abbott and other mines near Sulphur Creek in Colusa and Lake counties. Neither the Abbott nor Sulphur Bank were being actively worked. “For the present at least, no underground work is planned, there being several hundred thousand tons at the surface, estimated as material available for treatment ... Practically all of
8455-468: Was situated in a grove of oaks on the north bank of Cache Creek one mile (1.6 km) east of the present town of Yolo, California . Cache Creek was originally known to the Hudson's Bay Company trappers as Rivière la Cache . Cache Creek was temporarily blocked north of Rumsey by a landslide caused by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake : Our Rumsey correspondent mentions the fall of Cache Creek as
8550-554: Was the American Consul to Mexico at Mazatlan . The War with Mexico in 1845-1846 put a temporary end to the diplomacy business. John Parrott then set up his banking and real estate business in San Francisco in 1848 or 1850. John Parrot's son by Deloris Ochoa., Tiburcio Parrott, was educated in the United States and Europe. After the failure of the mercury mine, he spent the last decade of his life founding and operating
8645-478: Was the furnace operator and postmaster at the New Almaden mine before taking the post of superintendent at Sulphur Bank. The mine's owner-investors all lived in San Francisco. Eastlake was directly adjacent to the mining property. After the mine closed, Eastlake was abandoned. Those who worked at the mine in 1880 constituted an ethnic soup of foreign-born workers. The 1880 federal census, dated June 22, 1880, listed 218 Chinese-born men and 40 Occidentals associated with
8740-457: Was the heyday of the mining activity. The Sulphur Bank Quicksilver Mine often had the highest output after the New Almaden, the New Idria (San Benito County) and the Redington. However, profits were tempered by the temperature of the underground workings. The Chinese miners, who did most of the underground work, had to endure temperatures of 176 °F (80 °C) because the ore body followed
8835-423: Was then a part). The Silverado rush in the winter of 1858–59 caused “every unemployed man from Soscol to Calistoga turned prospector. Blankets and bacon, beans and hard bread rose to a premium,” reported William T. Montgomery in a light-hearted sketch of the great silver rush that resulted in enormous finds of worthless iron pyrites . But the rush did result in the discovery of cinnabar in 1860. Montgomery, who became
8930-476: Was treated in furnaces and retorts near the mine. The essential refining method was to turn the mercury into gas and recondense it to quicksilver. The sulfur would burn and convert to sulfur dioxide; the waste rock associated with the ore is known as calcine, or burnt rock, would be dumped near the lake shore, out of the way of the mining works. All of the furnaces at all of the mines in the vicinity were wood fired. The heyday of quicksilver mining came to an end when
9025-473: Was widely popular in Cache Creek's upper watershed, given its gold recovering properties. At the peak of mercury production, over 6 million pounds (2.7 million kg) of mercury were mined, creating large mining caverns across the entirety of California. Throughout this period, little to no environmental regulations had been established causing mercury, in the form of mining waste from retorting , to infiltrate water systems and make its way into Cache Creek . Through
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