Twenty-Mule Team Borax Wagon

Twenty-Mule Team Borax Wagon. . Before you is an original set of 20-Mule Team Borax Wagons. They were introduced in 1883 by Borax Magnate William Tell Coleman to haul Borax from his Harmony Borax works in Death Valley to the railroad at Mojave, 165 miles away. A round trip took 20 days. Between 1883 and 1888 wagons like this transported 15-20 million pounds of Borax without a single breakdown or loss of a single animal. The first 5 sets of wagons, bigger than any used before, were constructed in Mojave. The rear wheels are 7 feet in diameter, with 5-foot front wheels, both 8 inches wide. The wagons boxes are 16 ft by 4 ft by 6 ct deep. They weighed 7,800 lbs empty and cost $900 each in 1883. The normal outfit consisted of 2 wagons carrying 45,000 lbs of Borax, at that time worth about $13,000, and a third wagon hauling 1,200 gal of water. Despite the name, the rigs were typically drawn by 18 mules and 2 horses, with the larger, stronger horses hitched to the lead wagon to bear the weight of the heavy wagon tongue. When operations ceased at Harmony in 1888 most of the wagons were sold off. In 1890, 2 of the original outfits were refurbished to haul borax from borate, near Calico, to Daggett, where 2 additional sets were constructed by Seymour Alf. One of the pair is on display here. They operated until replaced by the borate and Daggett RR in 1898. In 1907 they hauled Borax from the Lila C. Mine east of Death Valley to the Tonopah and Tidewater RR at Death Valley Junction, even as the spur line that would put them out of business was being built. Except for promotional events, this marked the end of the 20-Mule Team Era. Other original wagons still exist at Harmony Borax works and Furnace Creek in Death Valley.