I found an interesting tidbit in my reading about borax in California. There were processing plants in Alameda, California (not far from me) and in Bayonne, New Jersey. One of the earliest reinforced concrete buildings constructed in the United States was the Pacific Coast Borax Company's refinery in Alameda, California, designed by Ernest L. Ransome and built in 1893. It was the first to use ribbed floor construction as well as concrete columns.
"Borax Smith", founded Pacific Borax and was a promoter of the "twenty-mule team."
In those days, it didn't take a Kamala Harris, $42 billion and an ocean full of corruption to get nothing done. Old "Borax" knew how to get things done and made himself a huge fortune.
We’ve visited Death Valley a couple of times. Beautiful scenery that is pretty unique from anywhere else on Planet Earth. And as inhospitable as the area is, you realize just how valuable borax was to make it economical to mine and transport.
This museum has some of the equipment from “back in the day.”