Harmony Borax Works

  • Also Known As: HS-2

  • Address: Borax Mill Rd
  • Vicinity: Off Hwy 190
  • Travel Genus: Sight
  • Sight Category: Historic District

Harmony Borax Works was the central feature in the opening of Death Valley and the subsequent popularity of the Furnace Creek area. The plant and associated townsite played an important role in Death Valley history.

After borax was found near Furnace Creek Ranch (then called Greenland) in 1881, William T Coleman built the Harmony plant and began to process ore in late 1883 or early 1884. When in full operation, the Harmony Borax Works employed 40 men who produced three tons of borax daily. During the summer months, when the weather was so hot that processing water would not cool enough to permit the suspended borax to crystallize, Coleman moved his work force to the Amargosa Borax Plant near present day Tecopa, California.

Getting the finished product to market from the heart of Death Valley was a difficult task, and an efficient method had to be devised. The Harmony operation became famous through the use of large mule teams and double wagons which hauled borax the long overland route to Mojave.The romantic image of the 20-mule team persists to this day and has become the symbol of the borax industry in this country.

The Harmony plant went out of operation in 1888, after only five years of production, when Coleman's financial empire collapsed. Acquired by Francis Marion Smith, the works never resumed the boiling of cottonball borate ore, and in time became part of the borax reserves of the Pacific Coast Borax Company and it successors. - NPS


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Timeline

Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
Y/M/D Person Association Description Composition Food Event
1883/00/00 William T Coleman Owner William T Coleman builds the Harmony Borax Works and begin processing ore in late 1883 or early 1884.
1888/00/00 William T Coleman Owner William T Coleman's financial empire collapses, shutting down Harmony Borax Works
1890/00/00 Pacific Coast Borax Company Established Francis Smith acquires all of Will T Coleman's borax holdings and mine sites in Death Valley, California, and Nevada, and incorporates them as The Pacific Coast Borax Company.
1890/00/00 Francis Marion Smith Owner Francis Smith establishes the Pacific Coast Borax Company

Data »

Particulars for Harmony Borax Works:
Area of Significance Commerce
Owner Federal
Sight Category Historic District
Criteria Historic Event
Area of Significance Industry
Historic Use Manufacturing facility
Level of Significance National
Historic Use Single dwelling
Area of Significance Transportation



US National Registry of Historic Places Data »

Accurate at time of registration: 31st December 1974

PLACE DETAILS
Registry Name: Harmony Borax Works
Registry Address: Death Valley National Monument
Registry Number: 74000339
Resource Type: District
Owner: Federal
Area in Acres: 185
Contributing Sites: 3
Certification: Listed in the National Register
Nominator Name: National Monument
CULTURAL DETAILS
Level of Significance: National
Area of Significance: Industry, Commerce, Transportation
Applicable Criteria: Event
Period of Significance: 1875-1899
Significant Year: c 1883, 1884, 1888
Historic Function: Domestic, Industry, processing, extraction
Historic Sub-Function: Single dwelling, Manufacturing facility
Current Function: Landscape
Current Sub-Function: Park

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