History Museums in San Jose

The Japanese American Museum of San Jose preserves and disseminates the culture and history of Japanese Americans, with a special focus on the Santa Clara Valley. It holds historical photographs, private memoirs and other unpublished documents from World War II.

Learn about the history of the New Almaden Mines including the cultural diversity of the people living in the mining  communities, technologies used to extract liquid mercury from cinnabar ore and the different uses of mercury.  Exhibits allow you to experience what it was like to work in a mine, and how New Almaden participated in California’s Gold Rush.  Next door, view Casa Grande’s antique-furnished parlor to see what is was like for wealthy folk in the 1800s. There is also a self-guided walking tour through the small town of New Almaden that includes visiting other historical sites such as the Mine Supervisor’s House, St. Anthony’s Church and the Hacienda Cemetery.

The museum houses the largest collection of artifacts on the west coast including a replica of an egyptian tomb, exhibits about daily life and trade, kinship and religion and shrines. There is a free parking lot, located on the corner of Naglee and Chapman (one block east of the Museum).