Guidebook
No. 773 OLD HARMONY BORAX WORKS - In 1881 Aaron Winters discovered borax on the marsh near this point. He later sold his holdings to W. T. Coleman of San Francisco, who built the Harmony Borax Works in 1882 and commissioned his superintendent, J. W. S. Perry, to design wagons and locate a suitable route to Mojave. The work of gathering the ore (called 'cottonball') was done by Chinese workmen. From this point, 20-mule teams transported the processed borax 165 miles to the railroad until 1889.
Location
State Route 190 at Mustard Canyon Drive
Open Map
Notes
We found the marker at Hwy 190 and Borax Mill Road. The site is 0.2 Mi. West of the marker.
Afterthoughts
Mules are the offspring of a female horse (mare) and a male donkey (Jack or Jackass). (Burro is the Spanish word for donkey.) The 20-Mule-Teams were actually 2 horses leading 18 mules. The horses were good leaders, the mules were good followers. Mules are more agile and have better stamina than horses. Pound for pound mules are stronger than horses and then need less food.
No. 773 OLD HARMONY BORAX WORKS
No. 773 OLD HARMONY BORAX WORKS
No. 773 OLD HARMONY BORAX WORKS - State Marker
No. 773 OLD HARMONY BORAX WORKS - State Plaque
No. 773 OLD HARMONY BORAX WORKS - White Gold
No. 773 OLD HARMONY BORAX WORKS
No. 773 OLD HARMONY BORAX WORKS - Borax
No. 773 OLD HARMONY BORAX WORKS
No. 773 OLD HARMONY BORAX WORKS - Refining Borax
No. 773 OLD HARMONY BORAX WORKS - 20-Mule-Train Carts
No. 773 OLD HARMONY BORAX WORKS - 20-Mule-Train
No. 773 OLD HARMONY BORAX WORKS - Refinery