Twenty-Mule Teams

Twenty-Mule Teams. . A true desert icon is the legendary 20-mule team. Longer teams had previously been used, but it is this one that has earned an enduring place in western history. In 1883 William Coleman introduced the teams to haul borax 165 miles from Harmony Borax works to the railroad at Mojave, a 20-day round trip. Between 1883 and 1888 they hauled between 15 and 20 million pounds of Borax without a single breakdown or loss of a single animal. 5 pairs of heavy wagons, bigger than any used before, were built at Mojave. They had rear wheels 7 feet in diameter with 5-foot front wheels, both 8 inches wide. The wagons were 16 ft by 4 feet and 6 ft deep. They weighed 7,800 pounds empty and cost about $900 each. The normal outfit was 2 wagons hauling 45,000 pounds of borax, then worth about $13,500, and a third wagon with a 1,200-gallon water tank. The rigs were drawn by 18 mules and 2 horses, with the larger, stronger horses nearest the wagon where they could move the heavy wagon tongue. When Death Valley operations ceased, most of the wagons were sold off to other desert freighters. In 1890 2 of the original outfits were refurbished to haul Borax from Borate, near Calico, to the railroad at Daggett, where 2 new sets were constructed. They operated there until replaced by The Borate and Daggett Railroad in 1898. In 1907 they hauled Borax from the Lila C. Mine east of Death Valley to the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad. Except for promotional events, this marked the end of the 20-Mule teams. Original wagons still exist at the Borax Visitor Center, Harmony Borax Works, and Furnace Creek in Death Valley. The teams are gone, but the history remains. ,