Francis Marion "Borax" Smith (February 2, 1846 - August 27, 1931) was an American borax magnate and civic builder of Oakland, CA. Borax cottonball Borax, also called sodium borate or sodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound. ... A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a mogul or a tycoon, is a person who controls a large portion of a particular industry and whose wealth derives primarily from said control. ... Aerial view looking west over downtown Oakland, Lake Merritt and the Port of Oakland in the upper left portion of the image. ...

Francis Marion Smith was born in Richmond, Wisconsin on February 2, 1846. At the age of 21, he left Wisconsin to prospect for mineral wealth in the American West. Richmond is a town located in Walworth County, Wisconsin. ...

In 1872, while working as a woodcutter, he discovered a rich supply of ulexite at Teels Marsh, Nevada. He staked a claim, started a company with his brother Julius, and established a borax works at Teels Marsh to convert the ulexite into borax. Within a year he had bought out his brother. In a few more years, he had gained control of all other major borax production in western Nevada. In 1893, he established the Pacific Coast Boax Company. As his borax empire expanded, he became known as the Borax King. In California, his company used twenty mule teams to move borax out of Death Valley. Ulexite NaCaB5O9·8H2O (hydrated sodium calcium borate hydroxide) is a mineral occurring in silky white rounded crystalline masses or in parallel fibers. ... State nickname: Silver State, Battle Born State (official) Other U.S. States Capital Carson City Largest city Las Vegas Governor Kenny Guinn (R) Senators Harry Reid (D) John Ensign (R) Official languages None Area 286,367 km² (7th)  - Land 284,396 km²  - Water 1,971 km² (0. ... Ulexite NaCaB5O9·8H2O (hydrated sodium calcium borate hydroxide) is a mineral occurring in silky white rounded crystalline masses or in parallel fibers. ... Borax cottonball Borax, also called sodium borate or sodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound. ... State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles [[List of Governors of California|Governor]] Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... Twenty mule teams were teams of eighteen mules and two horses attached to large wagons that ferried borax out of Death Valley from 1883 to 1889. ... For a detailed examination of the geology and other features of the valley, see Death Valley National Park. ...

Smith settled in Oakland, CA in 1881. There, he built America’s first reinforced concrete building, which was a borax refinery on an island in San Francisco Bay. He also created the Key System, which was the Bay Area’s first regional railway and ferry system. Aerial view looking west over downtown Oakland, Lake Merritt and the Port of Oakland in the upper left portion of the image. ... San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and the Golden Gate The San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary in which water draining approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean. ... The Key System Railway (or Key System Interurban) was a light-rail system that served the eastern San Francisco Bay Area from the 1900s until its removal in the late 1950s. ...

Francis Marion Smith died in Oakland, CA on August 27, 1931 at the age of 85. Aerial view looking west over downtown Oakland, Lake Merritt and the Port of Oakland in the upper left portion of the image. ...

Smith Mountain in Death Valley, California is named after him. Death Valley National Park is a mostly arid National Park located east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Inyo County, California, USA with a small section extending into Nevada. ...

References

• Hildebrand, GH. (1982) "Borax Pioneer: Francis Marion Smith." San Diego: Howell-North Books.
• Smith, Francis Marion. (Unpublished) circa 1925. Autobiographical Notes on His Early Life.

External Link

Teel’s Marsh: Birthplace of a Legend