Teams of mules were used to move millions of pounds of Borax from remote mines in inaccessible Death Valley to the railroad at Mojave.
Originally, teams of eight and ten mules were used, but the trek proved too much. A man named Ed Stiles came up with the idea of hitching two 10-mule teams together—twice the normal amount—resulting in a 100-foot-long team that took 10 days to carry 10 tons of borax one way across the desert.
In 1894, a steam engine named “Dinah” was brought in to replace the mules, but Dinah was no match for the epic 20 mule team’s power. She broke down and was towed back to town by the very mules she tried to replace.
The power of Borax works just as hard as the heritage of its mule team, cleaning deep to tackle your toughest mess.
- Sodium Borate discovered in Death Valley
- 20 mule team created to transport sodium borate
- Pacific Coast Borax Company was formed
- "20 Mule Team®" was added onto the box
- Death Valley Days radio anthology was released
- Death Valley radio show ends
- Death Valley Days television show was released
- Borax was acquired by Rio Tinto
- Death Valley Days television show ends
- 20 Mule Team Borax™ acquired by The Dial Corporation®
- The Dial Corporation® acquired by Henkel