Guidebook
NO. 652 20-MULE-TEAM BORAX TERMINUS - Just west of this point was the Southern Pacific terminus for the 20-mule-team borax wagons that operated between Death Valley and Mojave from 1884 to 1889. The route ran from the Harmony Borax Mining Company works, later acquired by the Pacific Coast Borax Company, to the railroad loading dock in Mojave over 165 miles of mountain and desert trail. A round trip required 20 days. The ore wagons, which hauled a payload of 24 tons, were designed by J. W. S. Perry, Borax Company superintendent in Death Valley, and built in Mojave at a cost of $900 each. New borax discoveries near Barstow ended the Mojave shipments in 1889.
Location
16246 Sierra Highway (Highway 14), Mojave
Open Map
NO. 652 20-MULE-TEAM BORAX TERMINUS - State Street Sign
NO. 652 20-MULE-TEAM BORAX TERMINUS - State Marker
NO. 652 20-MULE-TEAM BORAX TERMINUS - State Plaque
NO. 652 20-MULE-TEAM BORAX TERMINUS - State Street Sign