The T&T Chronology

Horse traders open a trail through the Amargosa Valley, later named The Spanish Trail.
 

First Gold is found in Death Valley area near Salt Springs.
 

A 26 year old Woodchopper discovers Borax at Teel's Marsh.
His name?   Francis Marion Smith!
 

Borax salts are first discovered in Death Valley during the great 'Borax Fever'.
 

W.T. Coleman takes over a failing company called Pacific Borax Company.
 

Francis Marion Smith buys P.B. Co. from Coleman.
 

The Death Valley Borax & Salt Mining District formed. Covers the floor of Death Valley
 

Eagle Mountain Borax & Salt Mining District formed. Area is 6 miles west of Resting Springs.
 

Daunet, Blanch & McDonald establishes Eagle Borax north of Bennett's Well.
 

The Monte Blanco Borax & Salt Mining District formed. Later finds in this area include the Biddy McCarthy and Widow Mines
 

The Eagle Borax Works is built about 2 miles north of Bennett's Well. Designed to separate the borax from the 'debris' by dissolving, settling and then crystalizing the Borax Salt. First wagon load is hauled out by a 12 mule team to the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad at Daggett, 100 miles from D.V..
 

Coleman founds the Harmony, the Henry Clay and the Meridian Mining Co's. He also establishes the Greenland and the Amargosa Co's. to process the ore.
 

Lila C. deposit found by Cub & Phi Lee.
 

C. Bennett begins hauling Borax for Coleman. By the next spring he has nine 18 mule teams working from Death Valley

Coleman consolidates his holdings into Harmony Borax Mining Co.
 

Mr. Perry - foreman of Coleman's operation - takes over hauling the Borax. Special wagons were built 4' w. x 16' l. x 6' d. Wheels are 5' front and 7' rear. Capacity is 10 tons, weight was 4 tons and each costs $900-1,200. A set of two wagons, with a 500 gallon tank wagon behind, leaves every four days on a 330 mile, 20 day round trip.
 

Coleman forms a new Meridian Borax Co. for holding his claims and California Chemical to refine and package the Borax.
 

The Calico-Daggett mines start shipping Borax
 

Coleman's operation goes bankrupt due to bad investments and falling prices on Borax. All mines are shut down.
 

F.M. 'Borax' Smith buys all of Coleman's D.V., Amargosa and Calico properties for $550,000, and re-opens the Calico works.
 

Smith consolidates all his holdings into the Pacific Coast Borax Co.
 

Smith's hires publicity agent, S.T. Mather (later with the U.S.N.P.S.). Mather convinces Smith to adopt the brand "20 Mule Team Borax".
 

Coleman dies shortly after paying back all his creditors.
 

Smith modernizes the works at Calico and builds the 8 mile Borate and Daggett Railroad, a 3' gauge. He also builds a new $1,250,000 processing plant at Bayonne, N.J. - tripling the volume of the company.
 

Borax Smith buys a British Borax refinery and forms Pacific Borax & Redwood's Chemical Works, Ltd.
 

Smith combines his world-wide holdings into Borax Consolidated, Ltd., one of the first multi-national corporations.
 

Smith makes his first formal suggestion that a railroad be built to the Lila C. mine, as the ore at Calico is becoming depleted.