HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF THE UPPER MOJAVE DESERT

Vol. 19 No. 5 May 2004

ANNUAL DINNER MEETING, MAY 18

The Annual Dinner Meeting of the Historical Society will be on Tuesday, May 18th at Victoria's at the Heritage, starting at 6:00. The evening will feature dinner (choice of chicken with roasted pepper sauce or top sirloin bacon wraps) with salad, vegetables, etc., an historical presentation, short reports and the election of four nominees to the Board of Directors for a two-year term. The candidates will be announced at the dinner

The featured speaker will be James J. Barnes, an archaeologist with the Bureau of land Management. He will speak on his research on Reilly, an 1880s silver mine located on the eastern flanks of the Argus Range in Panamint Valley. His research revealed that the mining operation at Reilly lasted little more than 24 months and was a financial bust to all involved. The presentation will show the documentary and archaeological evidence to explain why the mining operation failed and how its failure impacted labor, local economics, and the environment. The presentation will underscore archaeology's importance to understanding the far-flung influences that underpinned silver mining in the northern Mojave Desert and across the West.

Mr. Barnes was born and raised in Sonoma County, California, receiving a BA in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1996. Since then, he has worked as an archaeologist for the federal government, including the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and National Park Service, and in 2002, received a MA in Cultural Resources Management from Sonoma State University. He currently works for the BLM's Folsom Field Office, located near Sacramento.
Tickets to the dinner will cost $20 for members and nonmembers. Tickets are available at the Maturango Museum until May 14. For more information about this month's or future meetings, call HSUMD President Bruce Wertenberger at 375-2369 or leave a message at 375-8456. Everybody is welcome to attend the Society's meetings. A Sound

Time is short, please make your dinner reservations now at the Maturango Museum

JAPANESE/AMERICAN MUSEUM TOUR

As a follow up to the recent grand opening of the new Interpretive Center at Manzanar National Historic Site, the Historical Society of the Upper Mojave Desert is sponsoring a bus trip on Saturday, June 5th to the Japanese American National Museum, located in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo neighborhood. The day will begin early the morning of June 5 when we board the bus. (The exact time has not yet been set pending completion of arrangements.), and include a visit to the Museum, a short walking tour of Little Tokyo, and a visit to one or more Japanese gardens.

The vision that led to the Japanese American National Museum began in 1982, when businessmen in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo and a group of highly decorated World War II veterans realized that with the passing of first generation immigrants, or Issei, oral history was disappearing. The second
generation, or Nisei, realized their own children and grandchildren, the Sansei and Yonsei, often were unaware of the hardships and triumphs of earlier generations. What's more, many of the artifacts, photographs, written records and other materials documenting their lives had been lost or destroyed during the World War II internment. Those that remained were often forgotten in attics or in danger of being thrown away. The Museum was founded with a mission to insure that Japanese Americans preserved their rich heritage and cultural identity. The former Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple, built by Japanese immigrants in 1925, was selected as the site of the prospective museum and leased from the city of Los Angeles. The museum opened in 1992, on the day after the Los Angeles riots that spring. Today the museum contains many artifacts, books and artworks from a broad spectrum of Japanese Americans, famous and not so famous. More information is available at www.janm.org. Join us for a fascinating day at the museum!

Tickets for the tour will go on sale at the Maturango Museum on Monday, May 10. Tickets will cost $40 for HSUMD members and $45 for nonmembers. The prices includes bus fare, Museum admission, and the walking tour and garden tours. There will be time to purchase lunch in Little Tokyo, or bring a sack lunch to eat at the plaza across the museum. For more information, call Kathy Armstrong at 375-2643 or Marcia Nevins at 375-3356.
Andrew Sound

MYSTERY PHOTOS, MARCH, APRIL

According to HSUMD member, Pat Burke, the apple eaters in the March newsletter are: second from left: Richard Beach, fourth from left: Troy Oney. Pat challenges old Burroughs grads to help identify the other three! No information has been received about the identities of the people in the April newsletter.

THE FOURTH MYSTERY PHOTO - sorry - you'll have to get a hard copy to see it...

Here is another late 40's, early 50's photo from our archives. Can you identify any or all of the people in the picture? If so, call 375-8456 and leave a message or call any of our board members whose names and phone numbers are are listed on the back page, or drop us a note or send an e-mail. Again, addresses on back page.

LOIS CARR'S 90TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

Lois Carr, who first moved to the Indian Wells Valley over 70 years ago, turns 90 in June. Her family will be hosting an open house on Saturday June 12th between 1:00 and 4:00 in her honor. Those wishing to share in the birthday celebration are invited to join them at the Santiago Mobile Home Park clubhouse, 801 W. Ward, Ridgecrest.

Another Valley pioneer, Hank Schuette recently celebrated his 88th birthday so this will be an opportunity to offer good wishes to two local Old Timers. No gifts, please. If you are unable to attend please consider sending Lois (Space 72) or Hank (Space 71) Birthday greetings to the above address.

WACOM GRANT

We are pleased to announce that the HSUMD will awarded a $250 grant at their upcoming distribution luncheon . This is a continuation of the WACOM's support of nonprofit organizations such as ours and is greatly appreciated.

This past March a number of Historical Society members went on a field trip to the open pit borax mine at Boron, California. Following is Part Two of a two part article by John Di Pol on the background of the company which owns that mining property. Ed.

At the conclusion of Part 1 of this narrative, in 1914, Francis M. "Borax" Smith had lost his controlling interest (and much of his wealth) in Borax Consolidated Limited (BCL) which passed totally into his British partners' hands.

But, there is another matter that was not reported in Part 1. In October 1913, Smith heard about a borax deposit in the Mojave Desert. John Suchow, a medical doctor, had acquired a 160 acre agricultural claim in the desert region of eastern Kern County near the present town of Boron. While drilling for water, he struck what he believed to be a layer of gypsum at 40 feet. Suchow sent samples to be analyzed, which found not gypsum, but borate compounds. Being the entrepreneur that he was, Smith, who had heard this news, sent his trusted mining engineer John Ryan to investigate, with complete authority to purchase title in the name of Borax Consolidated Limited, to this deposit if his findings so warranted. Ryan did so, found the deposit to have potential and concluded the purchase.

This acquisition was to be of enormous benefit to BCL in future years; since the Death Valley deposits, which were at their peak of production in 1913, had started to play out by 1925. BCL turned to the Suchow deposits, made detailed surveys, saw the enormity of this deposit, commenced development and was in production by 1927. Together with further expansions, this deposit became the great open pit mine still in full production for decades to come, that members of the HSUMD recently visited.

Although now out of the borax business, Smith was not a totally destitute man. He still had his large estates in Oakland and on Shelter Island, NY. But more importantly, he had controlling interest, purchased with his own moneys, in the West End Consolidated Mining Co., which, by 1913, was a good silver producer in the Tonopah Mining District. Ever the entrepreneur, Smith began to reenter the borax business, financed primarily with the proceeds from the West End Mine. In 1916, his mining company was awarded one of the two borax leases on Searles Lake. A small plant was built, production started using old refining techniques which were not very successful. In 1920 Smith spun off the Searles enterprise from the mining company and formed the West End Chemical Company, with Smith in full control. By good fortune a young engineer, Henry Hellmers, a recent graduate from the University of California, was hired. In time Hellmers perfected an entirely new refining process which made the West End plant hugely successful in producing borax as well as other products.

Concomitantly, in 1921, another opportunity presented itself. An extremely large borate (colemanite) deposit was discovered in Nevada, east of Las Vegas. The discoverers wanted to sell. Smith, himself, went to Nevada to inspect, prepared to bid. There was another bidder there. You guessed it! An agent from Smith's former company, BCL. Smith's sealed bid prevailed. He proceeded to develop the deposit, then called the Anniversary Mine, and arranged with his old friend, John Stauffer, Sr., of Stauffer Chemical, to purchase the mine's rich ore, refine it, and market and sell the borax under the label "F. M. Smith Brand." The old name still had drawing power!

Thus by 1925, Smith was back "in the game." Not to the same extent as prior, but still, a major borax producer. As noted earlier, his former company, BCL, was having a bleak future at this time and it is ironic that their salvation was the action taken 12 years earlier by the man they failed to assist when he was in dire straits.

In 1928, Smith's health began to fail. It might be well to note at this point that Smith's wife of 30 years, Mary, died in 1905. In 1907 he married young Evelyn Ellis, who bore him four children. In early 1913, he transferred his entire holdings in the West End Mining Co. into Evelyn's name as the majority owner. And when the West End Chemical Co. was formed, she became its principal owner also. Smith had provided well for his young family. With Smith's health failing and eventual death, Evelyn ran the businesses, expanding the successful West Chemical works until 1958 when she sold he entire company to Stauffer Chemical for $27 million.

Francis Marion "Borax" Smith passed away on August 27, 1931. More than any other individual he was instrumental in transitioning borax from an artisan's material into a giant industry. A truly great entrepreneur.
John Di Pol

References: BORAX PIONEER: FRANCIS MARION SMITH, G. H. Hildebrand. 1982.
RAILROADS OF NEVADA AND EASTERN CALIFORNIA, VOL. 2 D. F. Myrick, 1963.
DEATH VALLEY AND THE AMARGOSA, E. E. Lingenfelter, 1986