Geology
When geologist George F. Becker explored the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine in 1887, the odor of hydrogen sulfide was prominent.
"The labyrinth of deep, open pits and trenches, and the acrid dust and evil smells of the locality produce a strong impression on the observer; but even to the geologist, it is an interesting rather than an agreeable one," Becker reported.
He found many interesting things about the mine and made the site world famous after the Encyclopædia Britannica quoted a synopsis of his theory, mentioning Sulphur Bank specifically in the entry on cinnabar.
Becker, a professor at the University of California, authored The Geology of the Quicksilver Resources of the Pacific Slope, published in 1888 by the United States Geographical Survey.
At the time the mine was explored by Becker in 1887, the Sulphur Bank Quicksilver Mining Company had gone into bankruptcy after a decade of being one of the highest producing mines in California.
The mine closed in 1883. By the time of the closure it had some shallow open pits and three shafts: The Hermann, The Fiedler and the Parrott. The Hermann and the Fiedler were connected underground, he wrote, and the Fiedler was flooded and overflowing into Clear Lake. Parrott Shaft was named for the mine's principal owners, Tiburcio and John Parrott. Ferdinand Fiedler was the mine superintendent; the naming of the Hermann shaft is lost to history. The spelling also changed to Herman sometime in the 1920s.
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