The Pacific Coast Borax Company (PCB) was a United States mining company founded in 1890 by the American borax magnate

Francis Smith Francis Smith may refer to: Government and politics *Francis Smith (by 1516-1605), member of parliament (MP) for Truro and Stafford *Francis Smith, 2nd Viscount Carrington (c. 1621 – 1701), English peer *Francis Ormand Jonathan Smith (1806–1 ...

, the "Borax King".

History

The roots of the Pacific Coast Borax Company lie in Mineral County, Nevada, east of Mono Lake, where Smith, while contracting to provide firewood to a small borax operation at nearby Columbus Marsh, spotted

Teels Marsh Teel's Marsh is a playa in Nevada, United States. It was the site of "Borax" Smith's first borax works at Marietta, Nevada Marietta, Nevada, was a town in Mineral County, Nevada. It is now a ghost town. History The area was extensively prospe ...

while looking westward from the upper slopes of Miller Mountain where the only nearby trees were growing. Eventually, to satisfy his curiosity, Smith and two assistants visited Teels Marsh and collected samples, that proved to assay higher than any known sources for borate. Returning to Teels Marsh, Smith and his helpers staked claims and laid the foundation for his career as a borax miner. With the help of his older brother, Julius, who came west from the family home in Wisconsin, and financial support from the two Storey brothers, operations began in 1872 under the name, Smith and Storey Brothers Borax Co. When the Storey brothers' interests were subsequently acquired in 1873, the name was shortened to Smith Brothers Borax Co. A few years later (circa 1884) it was changed again to Teel's Marsh Borax Co. In 1880, the separate and previously existing Pacific Borax Company (with no "Coast" in the name) was acquired by Smith. Frank Smith also developed holdings with his business associate William Tell Coleman at the

Harmony Borax Works The Harmony Borax Works is located in Death Valley at Furnace Creek Springs, then called Greenland. It is now located within Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. Origin and tw ...

as well as the Meridian Borax Company, which were subsequently combined to form the Pacific Borax, Salt & Soda Company in 1888. The Pacific Coast Borax Co. name was not adopted until Smith acquired all of Coleman's borax interests in central Nevada and California, after Coleman's bankruptcy, and incorporated them all under the new company name in 1890.

Death Valley

The

were part of what was acquired from Coleman by Smith in 1890. The borax was shipped via the

Death Valley Railroad The Death Valley Railroad (DVRR) was a narrow gauge railroad that operated in California's Death Valley to carry borax with the route running from Ryan, California and the mines at Lila C, both located just east of Death Valley National Park, t ...

that the company built to the east, from Ryan, California, to Death Valley Junction, California. It then transferred to the narrow gauge

to meet up with the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad (T&T) which ran from the Amargosa Valley south to the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and S ...

railhead in Ludlow, California. Th
Borax Museum
located in

Death Valley National Park Death Valley National Park is an American national park that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern section of Eure ...

, has a locomotive on display from the

Other mines

As Death Valley mining ran down, Smith developed new mines in the Calico Mountains near Yermo, California, and built the

Borate and Daggett Railroad The Borate and Daggett Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad built to carry borax in the Mojave Desert. The railroad ran about from Daggett, California, US, to the mining camp of Borate, to the east of Calico. History In 1883, prospector ...

to haul product to the railhead in

Daggett, California Daggett is an unincorporated community located in San Bernardino County, California in the United States. The town is located on Interstate 40 ten miles (16 km) east of Barstow. The town has a population of about 200. The ZIP code is ...

. Later, the company developed methods to process material from Searles Lake in the Searles Valley, building the company town of Westend and a siding on the

Trona Railway The Trona Railway is a short-line railroad owned by Searles Valley Minerals. The TRC interchanges with the Lone Pine Subdivision of the Union Pacific Railroad (former Southern Pacific Transportation Company) at Searles, California. History Th ...

for shipping to the railhead at Searles, California. One of the earliest reinforced concrete buildings constructed in the United States was the Pacific Coast Borax Company's refinery in Alameda, California, designed by Ernest L. Ransome and built in 1893. It was the first to use ribbed floor construction as well as concrete columns. Christian Brevoort Zabriskie joined the company in 1885, became its vice president and stayed until 1933. Zabriskie Point above Death Valley is named in his honor. In 1926, the Pacific Coast Borax Company created a subsidiary called the Death Valley Hotel Company to construct a

Mission Revival style The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

-luxury hotel near the Furnace Creek springs in the foothills of the Funeral Mountains overlooking Death Valley. The

Furnace Creek Inn The Oasis at Death Valley, formerly called Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch Resort, is a luxury resort in Furnace Creek, on private land within the boundaries of California's Death Valley National Park. It is owned and operated by Xanterra Parks and ...

opened in February 1927, with transport via the motor-coach from the Ryan station of the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad.

20 Mule Team Borax

The company established and aggressively developed and marketed the ''

20 Mule Team Borax 20 Mule Team Borax is a brand of cleaner manufactured in the United States by The Dial Corporation, a subsidiary of Henkel.Hildebrand, G. H. (1982) "Borax Pioneer: Francis Marion Smith." San Diego: Howell-North Books. The product primarily con ...

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from oth ...

in order to promote the sale of its product. The name derived from the 20-mule teams that were used to transport borax out of

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in North Am ...

in the 1880s from

near

Furnace Creek Ranch The Oasis at Death Valley, formerly called Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch Resort, is a luxury resort in Furnace Creek, on private land within the boundaries of California's Death Valley National Park. It is owned and operated by Xanterra Parks and R ...

, owned by William Tell Coleman at that time and sold to Smith in 1890. They also produced Boraxo hand soap. The radio version of ''Death Valley Days'' ran from 1930 to 1951. The TV series '' Death Valley Days'' was hosted at one point by "Borateem-pitchman" and future U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Corkill Hall - Amargosa Opera House

In Death Valley Junction, California in 1923–24, the Pacific Coast Borax Company constructed their Civic Center at a cost of $300,000 ($ in dollars ). Designed by architect Alexander Hamilton McCulloh, the U-shaped complex of Spanish Colonial Style adobe buildings included company offices, a store, an employee dorm, a 23-room hotel, dining room, lobby, gymnasium, billiard room and ice cream parlor. At the northeast end of the complex was Corkill Hall, a recreation hall used as a community center for dances, church services, movies, funerals and town meetings. Remodeled in 1927, the Civic Center became the Amargosa Hotel. In 1967, Corkhill Hall became

Marta Becket Marta Becket (August 9, 1924 – January 30, 2017) born Martha Beckett, was an American actress, dancer, choreographer and painter. She performed for more than four decades at her own theater, the Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction ...

's renowned

Amargosa Opera House Amargosa is the Spanish name of the plant ''Centaurium erythraea''. It may also refer to: Western United States Animals *Amargosa toad *Amargosa vole Natural geography *Amargosa Desert *Amargosa Range *Amargosa River **Amargosa River Area of Crit ...

U.S. Borax

In 1956, the Pacific Coast Borax Company merged with United States Potash Corporation to form U.S. Borax, which itself was acquired by Rio Tinto Minerals ( Rio Tinto Group) in 1967. As a wholly owned subsidiary, the company now is called Rio Tinto Borax and continues to supply nearly half the world's borates. U.S. Borax sold its flagship Boraxo, Borateem and 20 Mule Team

product line Product may refer to: Business * Product (business), an item that serves as a solution to a specific consumer problem. * Product (project management), a deliverable or set of deliverables that contribute to a business solution Mathematics * Prod ...

s to Dial Corporation in 1988.Rio Tinto Borax: About Borax : History
It continues to operate the Rio Tinto Borax Mine, which is the largest open-pit mine in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

next to the company town of Boron, in the Mojave Desert east of Mojave, California. The Trona operation later became part of Searles Valley Minerals.

Notes

References

* * http://www.boraxminers.com - ILWU - Borax Miners. (''2010'')

External links

Views of the Borax Industry, ca. 1898-ca. 1915
The Bancroft Library {{Authority control Defunct mining companies of the United States Chemical companies of the United States Mining in California Death Valley History of the Mojave Desert region History of mining in the United States History of Inyo County, California Searles Valley Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad Companies based in Inyo County, California Companies based in Kern County, California Companies based in Oakland, California Chemical companies established in 1890 Non-renewable resource companies established in 1890 Non-renewable resource companies disestablished in 1956 1890 establishments in California 1956 disestablishments in California Defunct companies based in California Former Rio Tinto (corporation) subsidiaries Mojave Desert Borax mines