The discovery of a rich cinnabar deposit near Santa Clara, California in1848 led to the opening of the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine, named after the world's largest quicksilver producer in Almaden, Spain. Soon after, a small team prospecting in the rugged mountains of the southern Diablo range about 80 miles south of Santa Clara discovered another rich cinnabar deposit and they quickly formed the New Idria Quicksilver Mining Company, which is named after the world's second largest quicksilver producer in Idrija, Slovenia. The small town of New Idria grew up around the mine to support the homes, business and milling for the New Idria mining operations. The mine and town closed in 1972 and has since become an abandoned ghost town. New Idria is State Historic Landmark # 324.

Idria as viewed from the hills

This website served as the only resource for promoting area history. This site was sponsored by Three Rocks Research, a non-profit organization that depended on donations and public support – the funds for this site run out at the end of 2014. This site began to promote area history to the recreation community, but the with the closure of the public land that purpose can no longer be justified. Folks interested in area history and previous visitor to this unusual landscape who want a memorial to this history should purchase a copy of my recent book advertise above.