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174:, which had begun only 20 years earlier, increased the demand and price of mercury to $ 1 a pound—approximately $ 20 in 2018 dollars—making ore extraction profitable and prompting a short-lived mercury rush in the 1870s. When the price of ore dropped within a few years, most mines were quickly abandoned. In its heyday, the town had eight bars that were notorious for fights, and a single church. Mercury was also mined in other areas of Sonoma County at the time, including mines near
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By 1963 the settlement of
Mercuryville had diminished in population to a population of two, and the town then consisted of a gas station/store that doubled as a home for an elderly couple. By this time the nearby Geysers resort was rundown with a main pool and a few smaller gender-segregated pools.
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By the mid-1960s the gas station had closed and
Mercuryville had become a ghost town. One of the last remaining large mine buildings was burned in wildfires in the mid-1970s, although some concrete structures and metalwork from the mines remain.
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As per the name of the town, mercury was its primary economic engine and there were several mines in the area. The nearby
Socrates Mine, about 5 miles west of Mercuryville, produced mercury-bearing ores including:
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214:, the world's largest geothermal energy generation facility that provides 725 megawatts of electricity; it produces enough electricity to power the city of
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306:"Detailed mineral report for Socrates Mine, Castle Rock Springs area, West Mayacmas District, Mayacmas Mts (Mayacamas Mts), Sonoma Co., California, USA"
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278:"A Homestead Era History of Nunns' Canyon and Calabazas Creek Preserve c.1850 - 1910 Glen Ellen, California"
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is a dense liquid metal that can be used to separate gold from other less dense materials. The
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256:"Sonoma County Historical Society – Sonoma County Timeline"
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328:"About Geothermal Energy | Calpine Corporation"
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237:Mercuryville City limits road sign from the 1950s
378:Former settlements in Sonoma County, California
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162:Mercuryville was founded in 1874, after
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210:and hot springs. Located nearby is
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353:"Search Results for mercuryville"
308:. Mindat.org. September 24, 2015
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42:The town of Mercuryville in 1956
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186:, montroydite, edgarbaileyite,
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373:Ghost towns in California
258:. Sonomacountyhistory.org
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98:38.77611°N 122.83944°W
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67:Mercuryville
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337:October 20,
332:Geysers.com
312:October 20,
262:October 20,
212:the Geysers
176:Guerneville
152:The Geysers
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89:122°50′22″W
367:Categories
242:References
196:chalcedony
192:tiemannite
140:ghost town
128:California
86:38°46′34″N
208:fumaroles
188:magnesite
290:July 19,
184:cinnabar
164:cinnabar
168:Mercury
158:History
142:in the
114:Country
204:pyrite
202:, and
190:, and
154:road.
150:along
281:(PDF)
138:is a
124:State
339:2016
314:2016
292:2019
264:2016
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