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Boron, the home of the 20-mule team
Topics: Boron, 20-mule team, Borax, Bakersfield, Kern County, Borax Visitor Center, Col. Vernon P. Saxon Jr. Aerospace Museum
Posted by admin Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments Location: Boron, CA

Established in 1927, today's Boron is a hub of history and industry. In fact, one of the town's main thoroughfares, Twenty Mule Team Road, got its very name from the industry that gave Boron its start.

In the late 1800s, the business of mining borax in Death Valley was just getting started when the problem of transporting the mineral to the railroad in Mojave became a serious issue.

To solve it, a mule skinner named Ed Stiles suggested using two 10-mule teams to haul the borax ore in wagons over the 165-mile route. Thus, the 20-mule team was born.

Then, when an even larger deposit of borax was discovered in the early 1920s in what is now the town of Boron, operations were moved and borax mining became a central part of Boron life.

In fact, many Boron residents still work at Rio Tinto Borax, where visitors can see the history of borax mining firsthand.

Another local hot spot is Domingo's Finest Mexican and Seafood Restaurant, where owner and honorary Boron Mayor Domingo Gutierrez says he has hosted the crew of every shuttle mission that has landed at Edwards for the last seven years, except for the 2005 Discovery crew.

Gutierrez says crew commander Eileen Collins phoned him to say they wouldn't be coming because the early-morning landing would quickly be followed by a news conference in Houston.

Besides feeding hungry astronauts, Gutierrez is also honorary commander of the Edwards Air Force Base Flight Test Center.

Gutierrez says he moved to Boron in 1988 and loves the town¹s friendly atmosphere.

"We're very unique," says Gutierrez. "We all get along very well."

Geographic information
Size: 13.8 square miles
Climate: summer high, 97; summer low, 63; winter high, 58; winter low, 32; annual rainfall, less than 5 inches.

History
Year founded: 1927
Economic demographics
Population: 3,325
Average household income: $50,000
Average housing cost: $130,000

Business
Rio Tinto Borax: 14486 Borax Road, Boron, 93516, 760-762-7000,

Kramer Junction Solar Electric Generating Station

Air Force Research Laboratory: 2 Draco Drive, Edwards Air Force Base, 93524, 275-5620

Chamber of Commerce:
President: Randy Smith
26922 Twenty Mule Team Road, Boron, 93516
 760-762-5810, chamber@boronchamber.org
Hours: 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Government
Honorary mayor: Domingo Gutierrez, for eight years, 760-762-6266

Town hall: Town meetings are held at Col. Vernon P. Saxon Jr. Aerospace Museum, 26922 Twenty Mule Team Road, Boron, 93516, 760-762-6600.

Kern County Human Services Department: Mojave Office, 2340 Highway 58, Mojave, 93501, 824-7500, fax 824-7552.

Kern County supervisors: District 2 Supervisor Don Maben, field representative James Welling, 1775 Highway 58, Mojave, 93501, 824-7000, ext.
1, fax 824-8970, district2@co.kern.ca.us

Public safety
Kern County Sheriff's Department: Boron Substation, Sgt. Rick Wood, 26949 Cote St., Boron, 93516, 760-762-6666, open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Fire chief: Dennis Thompson, 760-762-6167

 Animal shelter: Mojave Animal Shelter, 923 Poole St., Mojave Airport, Mojave, 93501, 824-1030.

Community services
Kern County Library: 26967 Twenty Mule Team Road, Boron, 93516
 760-762-5606
 open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, closed Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Parks and Recreation: Kern County Parks and Recreation Department, 1110 Golden State Ave., Bakersfield, 93301, 868-7000, for emergencies after 5 p.m., 861-3110.

Senior Center: 27177 Twenty Mule Team Road, 760-762-5501, president John Welling. Open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays, thrift store, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Monday through Friday.

Organizations
Boron Lions Club: Box 16, Boron, 93516; meets at Boron Senior Center, 27177 Twenty Mule Team Road, 760-677-0370

Girl Scouts of America: Joshua Tree Council, Lancaster Service Center, 2330 Mall Loop Road, #119, Lancaster, 93536, 723-1230, fax 951-0680

Other attractions
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center and Edwards Air Force Base joint tour:
Rosamond Boulevard, 93524, 277-3517, tours available first and third Friday of each month at 8 a.m., by reservation only.

Borax Visitor Center: 14486 Borax Road, Boron, 93516, 760-762-7588 or 760-762-7000, visitorcenter@borax.com, www.borax.com. Admission, $2 auto, $10 bus, $1 motorcycle. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, closed major holidays.

Twenty Mule Team Museum: 26962 Twenty Mule Team Road, Boron, 93516, 760-762-5810, www.20muleteammuseum.org. Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Sunday, closed major holidays, admission by donation.

Col. Vernon P. Saxon Jr. Aerospace Museum: 26922 Twenty Mule Team Road, Boron, 93516, 760-762-6600, director@saxonaerospacemusuem.org, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year¹s Day.

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