Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Borax

Harmony Borax Works

— Refining Borax —

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, January 23, 2015

1. Borax panel

Caption: Chinese laborers recruited from San Francisco scraped the borax off the salt flats and carried it by wagon to the refinery. They received $1.30 per day, less lodging and the cost of food they bought at the company store.

Inscription.

Borax. Harmony Borax Works. These panels deal with how borax was mined and refined at the Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley. , Borax . Borates - salt minerals - were deposited in ancient lake beds that uplifted and eroded into the yellow Furnace Creek badlands. Water dissolved the borates and carried them to the Death Valley floor, where they recrystallized as borax. , Borax - blacksmiths used it, as have potters, dairy farmers, housewives, meat packers, and even morticians. For centuries humans have exploited borax for many important uses. , Harmony Borax Works . San Francisco businessman William T. Coleman built this plant to refine the “cottonball” borax found on the nearby salt flats. The high cost of transportation made it necessary to refine the borax here rather than carry both borax and waste to the railroad, 165 miles (265 km) across the desert. , Refining Borax . Workers refined borax by separating the mineral from unwanted mud and salts, a simple but time-consuming process. , The Process: Workers heated water in the boiling tanks, using an adjacent steam boiler. Winching ore carts up the incline, they dumped the ore into the boiling tanks. Workers added carbonated soda. The borax dissolved, and the lime and mud settled out. They drew off the borax liquid into the cooling vats, were it crystallized on hanging metal rods. Borax will not crystallize at temperatures above 120 degrees, so Harmony Borax Works stopped operating during the summer. To keep the crystallizing vats cool the rest of the year, workers wrapped them with water-soaked felt padding, visible in the photograph. Lifting the rods out, they chipped of the now refined crystallized borax. To produce “concentrated” borax, the repeated the process. For later transport, the workers bagged and stored the refined or concentrated borax in a barn that stood behind you., Living at Harmony . Crude shelters and tents once dotted the flat below you. Chinese workers slept and ate there; other employees lived at what is now Furnace Creek Ranch. This 1892 photo - taken after the works closed - shows the borax works in the center of the view and the company village on the flat to the left.

These panels deal with how borax was mined and refined at the Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley.

Borax Borates - salt minerals - were deposited in ancient lake beds that uplifted and eroded into the yellow Furnace Creek badlands. Water dissolved the borates and carried them to the Death Valley floor, where they recrystallized as borax.

Borax - blacksmiths used it, as have potters, dairy farmers, housewives, meat packers, and even morticians. For centuries humans have exploited borax for many important uses.

Harmony Borax Works San Francisco businessman William T. Coleman built this plant to refine the “cottonball” borax found on the nearby salt flats. The high cost of transportation made it necessary to refine the borax here rather than carry both borax and waste to the railroad, 165 miles (265 km) across the desert.

Refining Borax Workers refined borax by separating the mineral from unwanted mud and salts, a simple but time-consuming process.

The Process: Workers heated water in the boiling tanks, using an adjacent steam boiler.
Winching ore carts up the incline, they dumped the ore into the boiling tanks.
Workers added carbonated soda. The borax dissolved, and

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the lime and mud settled out.
They drew off the borax liquid into the cooling vats, were it crystallized on hanging metal rods.
Borax will not crystallize at temperatures above 120 degrees, so Harmony Borax Works stopped operating during the summer. To keep the crystallizing vats cool the rest of the year, workers wrapped them with water-soaked felt padding, visible in the photograph.
Lifting the rods out, they chipped of the now refined crystallized borax. To produce “concentrated” borax, the repeated the process.
For later transport, the workers bagged and stored the refined or concentrated borax in a barn that stood behind you.

Living at Harmony Crude shelters and tents once dotted the flat below you. Chinese workers slept and ate there; other employees lived at what is now Furnace Creek Ranch. This 1892 photo - taken after the works closed - shows the borax works in the center of the view and the company village on the flat to the left.

Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1892.

Location. 36° 28.789′ N, 116° 52.526′ W. Marker is in Death Valley National Park, California

Harmony Borax Works panel image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, January 23, 2015

2. Harmony Borax Works panel

Caption: This is how the works appeared about 1900, twelve years after the operation ceased.

, in Inyo County. Marker can be reached from Borax Mill Road west of U.S. 190, on the left when traveling west. Located just north of Furnace Creek at Harmony Borax Works. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Death Valley CA 92328, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Twenty Mule Teams (a few steps from this marker); White Gold (within shouting distance of this marker); Old Harmony Borax Works (approx. 0.3 miles away); Stephen Tyng Mather (approx. 1.3 miles away); Old Dinah (approx. 1.6 miles away); 20 Mule Team Wagon Train (approx. 1.6 miles away); Furnace Creek Ranch, Death Valley (approx. 1.7 miles away); Death Valley 49ers Gateway (approx. 2½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Death Valley National Park.

Also see . . . Borax and the 20-mule team in Death Valley - DesertUSA. he heyday of the Harmony operation was from 1883 to 1888. During those years, the teams ran like clockwork, completing the 330-mile round trip between the Harmony Borax Works and the railhead in about 20 days, despite the difficult terrain. One team loaded and left the works every four days. (Submitted on January 31, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)

Refining Borax panel image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, January 23, 2015

3. Refining Borax panel

Living at Harmony panel image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, January 23, 2015

4. Living at Harmony panel

Death Valley where borax was mined. image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, January 23, 2015

5. Death Valley where borax was mined.

Harmony Borax Works refinery image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, January 23, 2015

6. Harmony Borax Works refinery

Harmony Borax Works boiler image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, January 23, 2015

7. Harmony Borax Works boiler

Harmony Borax Works boiling tank image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, January 23, 2015

8. Harmony Borax Works boiling tank

Harmony Borax Works out-buildings image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, January 23, 2015

9. Harmony Borax Works out-buildings

in distance.

Harmony Borax Works image. Click for full size.

Public Domain

10. Harmony Borax Works

Adobe Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Baker, October 29, 2020

11. Adobe Building

Twenty Mule Team Wagons image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Craig Baker, October 29, 2020

12. Twenty Mule Team Wagons

Credits. This page was last revised on August 20, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 31, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 488 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. submitted on January 31, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. 11, 12. submitted on November 6, 2020, by Craig Baker of Sylmar, California. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.