|
The Hacienda Cemetery is located on the east bank of the Arroyo de los Alamitos Creek. It dates to at least the early 1860s when the New Almaden Quicksilver Co. headquarters and reduction works were at the Hacienda (now New Almaden) and the Cornish and Spanish miners lived in the town on the hill. Many of those who lived are worked here during the mining era, made this their final resting place.
In the spring of 1928, Bertram Road was cut through the length of the tract east of the creek, slicing a swath through the little cemetery over the tops of an unknown number of graves. Old-timers recall crosses and headstones were broken off and graves were bulldozed in the building of the road.
The road is named for Richard Bertram "Bert" Barrett, son of a quicksilver miner and native of the area. Barrett, as much as anyone, deserved to have a signpost with his name on the road that divides the little cemetery, for part of him is buried there.
New Almaden was designated a national historic monument in 1966, and now its cemetery will be perpetuated and preserved. |