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| Landmark #458 | Santa Clara County | Visited: August 28, 2016 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | The Forbes Mill Museum, once the annex of the flour mill of James Alexander Forbes! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: This is all that remains of the four-story stone flour mill built in 1854 by James Alexander Forbes. The town that grew around this building was first called Forbes Mill, then Forbestown, and finally Los Gatos.
OTHER TIDBITS: Well that’s a cop-out! Who the heck was James Alexander Forbes? Well, I’ll tell you! He was originally from Scotland and came to the US in 1831, spending time as well in Uruguay and Argentina, where he joined a battle against Brazil and wound up with a saber wound and a metal plate in his head for the rest of his life! In California, he married into Mexican citizenship and became the British Vice-Consul for Alta California, later investing in the development of the New Almaden Mine but getting pushed out by his uncle, Alexander! From then on, Mr. Forbes became pretty unscrupulous, borrowing thousands from Jesuit priests, a furniture dealer, and “an old man in Guadalajara” while never paying it back! He built this mill to capitalize on the demand for flour during the Gold Rush, but he managed it so poorly that by the time he finished it, there were numerous competitors on the market, and the price of flour dropped from $50 a barrel to $5! Mr. Forbes went bankrupt, and the creditor who took over removed all mention of the Forbes name from the mill, so as not to tarnish its value! This landmark is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: Forbes Mill Museum 75 Church St Los Gatos, CA 95030 ANNOTATIONS: From Los Angeles: ~344mi (554km) — 5.8hrs |
| When should I go? | You can see the outside any time you like, but the museum has been closed to the public! |
