Per our tour escort, the Harmony Borax Works was established by William T Coleman in 1881 after borax was discovered in the area. They began to process ore in late 1883 or early 1884. The Harmony Borax Works employed 40 men who produced three tons of borax daily. During the summer months the processing was done at the Amargosa Borax Plant near present day Tecopa, California. The company hauled the borax to the market using double wagons pulled by a large mule team thus the “20-mule team” was born and became the symbol of the borax industry. The site is now in the National Register of Historic Places. Don't miss if you are in the area.

This site off the highway in Death Valley was a working borax 'mine' for 5 years in the 1880's. Some ruins of the refinery are on the hill, and a well-preserved '20 Mule Team Wagon' with water tank for the mules is down on the desert floor.

It's hard to comprehend how badly is must have sucked to live and work around here 150 years ago. The only consolation is that the borax production had to stop at the height of summer because the crystals could not form above 120F. Maybe another consolation would've been the amazing surrounding, but I'll bet that novelty would wear off after a week or so.