Francis Marion Smith
Encyclopedia
Francis Marion Smith (once known nationally and internationally as "Borax Smith" and "The Borax King" ) was an American
miner
, business magnate
and civic builder in the Mojave Desert
, the San Francisco Bay Area
, and Oakland, California
.
Frank Smith created the extensive interurban public transit
Key System
in Oakland, the East Bay
, and to San Francisco.
in 1846. At the age of 21, he left Wisconsin to prospect for mineral wealth in the American West
, starting in Nevada
.
In 1867, while working as a woodcutter, he discovered a rich supply of Ulexite
at Teel's Marsh
, near the town he would found ten years later, Marietta, Nevada
. He staked a claim, started a company with his brother Julius Smith, and established a borax
works at the edge of the marsh
to concentrate the borax
crystals and separate them from dirt and other impurities.
In 1877, Scientific American
reported that the Smith Brothers shipped their product in a 30-ton load using two large wagons with a third wagon for food and water drawn by a 24-mule team for 160 miles (257.5 km) across the Great Basin Desert
from Marietta to Wadsworth, Nevada
where the nearest Central Pacific Railroad
siding was.
Smith the acquired properties at Columbus Marsh
and Fish Lake. Then in 1884, Smith bought out his brother. While reduced operations continued at Teels
, Smith now focused his energies and borax mining in Death Valley
and at the 20 Mule Team Canyon mine in the Amargosa Range
to the east. In 1890, upon William Tell Coleman
's Harmony Borax Works
financial overextension, he acquired Coleman's borax works and holdings in western Nevada, the Death Valley region, and in the Calico Mountains
near Yermo, California
. Smith then consolidated them with his own holdings to form the Pacific Coast Borax Company
in 1890.
Smith's Pacific Coast Borax Company then established and aggressively promoted the 20-Mule-Team Borax
brand and trademark
, which was named after the Twenty Mule Team
s that Coleman had used, from 1883 to 1889, to transport borax out of Death Valley to the closest railroad in Mojave, California
(and as Smith himself had developed even earlier at his borax work in Nevada - see above). The idea came from Smith's Advertising Manager, Stephen Mather, later owner of Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company, and in 1916 appointed the first Chief of the new National Park Service
.
borax deposits at Borate in the Calico Mountains
, which were discovered in 1882 and began operations in 1890, where they continued until 1907. Initial hauling to the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad was done again by the 20 mule team
s, but were retired as soon as a Smith completed the 12 miles (19.3 km) long Borate and Daggett Railroad
.
In 1899, Smith had joined forces with Richard C. Baker
to form the Borax Consolidated, Ltd. Together, they formed a multinational mining conglomerate, in which Smith had the controlling interest. Baker expanded the company's foreign acquisitions in Italy, Turkey, and South America and was largely responsible for capitally financing the corporation's expansion. The incorporation of Borax Consolidated, Ltd. included the Sterling Borax Company and the Suckow Property Though not developed by Smith then, the Sukow property he obtained eventually went on to become the largest open pit mine in California where today almost half of the world's borates are currently mined.
When the deposits at Borate neared depletion, work began near Death Valley Junction
to develop nearby claims at what became known as the Lila C Mine in 1907. Again, long mule teams were used in the early years while Smith constructed the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad
connecting with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad across the Mojave River
and Kelso Dunes
at Ludlow, California
.
While operating at this location, Smith purchased the Boric acid
mineral rights at the "Suckow claims" at Boron, California
between Barstow
and Mojave and east of present day Edwards Air Force Base
. Though never developed by Smith's Pacific Coast Borax Company, his corporate successors have obtained all their borax minerals from the Suckow claims for more than 75 years, and estimate remaining deposits will last for nearly as long. It is now California's largest open-pit mine
, which is also the largest borax mine in the world.
, he acquired mineral rights to a large section of Searles Lake
in the Panamint Valley
over the Panamint Range
from Death Valley, in northern San Bernardino County, California
. However, finding a profitable way to convert the extensive lake brines into borax and other important commercial mineral salts products, proved elusive for roughly a decade.
In the meantime, he outbid the new owners of his company for the rights to a rich borax discovery in Nevada's Muddy Mountains
, in Callville Wash, under present day Lake Mead
. He called his operations there the Anniversary Mine as the claims were acquired on the anniversary of his marriage to his second wife. The profits from this claim provided the capital to develop the Searles Lake deposits when a young chemist, Henry Helmers, discovered a profitable process for refining the lake brines into marketable products. He built the Trona Railway
, a Short-line railroad, to ship the products to the Union Pacific Railroad
connection at Searles, California
. The operation and railroad is now under Searles Valley Minerals.
in 1881 where in 1896 he acquired an estate and constructed a mansion
, across the street from the Twelfth and Jefferson location of Oakland High School
's second campus, where he lived until 3 years prior to his death in 1931. After Mollie died in 1905 at age 55, he remarried in 1906 to Evelyn Kate Ellis, a Shelter Island
socialite.
was built only to ship borax. Later, however, Smith created the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad
, not only to ship borax, but also with an eye on the ore and passengers from the boomtown of Rhyolite, Nevada
in the Bullfrog Mining District. This line was built in direct competition with the "Copper King" William A. Clark's Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad
.
Smith also partenered with Frank C. Havens
in creating the extensive Key System
, a major urban and suburban commuter train, ferry
and streetcar system serving the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
. The development of the Key System supported interests in a significant real estate development company also, with such projects as the 1907 Key Route Inn
and 1915 Claremont Hotel
. Smith also built Idora Park
, a Trolley park
on the banks of Temescal Creek in north Oakland to attract riders to the trolleys on weekends.
Smith commissioned one of America’s first Reinforced Concrete
buildings, the Pacific Coast Borax Company refinery, in Alameda, California
in 1893. The architect was Ernest L. Ransome
.
at the upper end of Long Island
in New York
. Smith was involved in some way in most significant charitable and community events during his lifetime, and frequently made his estates in Oakland and Shelter Island available for fundraising activities, involving his children in running games and booths.
Frank Smith served as an Electoral College presidential elector in the 1912 election. He made his fine carriage available for use by Presidents Theodore Roosevelt
and William Howard Taft
during their visits to his adopted hometown of Oakland. The carriage is now on display at the Oakland Museum of California
.
and estate into a smaller residence across Lake Merritt
in the Adams Point neighborhood
. Prior to moving, several large pieces of the estate's gardens had been sold on which more modest homes were built. With the stock market crash of 1929, no buyer could be found for the remaining estate and shortly after his death the mansion was demolished after many remarkable and marketable fixtures were removed and sold.
Francis Marion Smith died in Oakland in 1931 at the age of 85. He is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery of Oakland, along "Millionaires Row".
The Western Railway Museum
's archives wing is named for Francis Marion "Borax" Smith. The museum, located in Solano County, California
on California State Route 12, includes several operating street cars and transbay trains that operated on the Key System
lines in Oakland and adjacent cities on the east side of San Francisco Bay
.
The Francis Marion Smith Park, on land from a portion of his former estate donated by he and his wife, is on Park Boulevard in Oakland.
In Death Valley
, Smith Mountain
, a 5915 feet (1,802.9 m) peak in the Amargosa Range
, is named in his honor.
On Shelter Island, NY
, Smith Street and Smith Cove are named for him.
"Borax" Smith is a character in the historical fiction novel Carter Beats the Devil
by Glen David Gold
(ISBN 0-7868-8632-3) and the main character in Jack London
's novel Burning Daylight
was partially based on his life.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
miner
Miner
A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....
, business magnate
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
and civic builder in the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
, the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, and Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
.
Frank Smith created the extensive interurban public transit
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
Key System
Key System
The Key System was a privately owned company which provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area from 1903 until 1960, when the system was sold to a newly formed public...
in Oakland, the East Bay
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
, and to San Francisco.
Early mining career
Francis Marion Smith was born in Richmond, WisconsinRichmond, Walworth County, Wisconsin
Richmond is a town in Walworth County, Wisconsin, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,835. The unincorporated communities of Lake Lorraine and Turtle Lake are located in the town.-Geography:...
in 1846. At the age of 21, he left Wisconsin to prospect for mineral wealth in the American West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
, starting in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
In 1867, while working as a woodcutter, he discovered a rich supply of Ulexite
Ulexite
Ulexite , sometimes known as TV rock, is a mineral occurring in silky white rounded crystalline masses or in parallel fibers. The natural fibers of ulexite conduct light along their long axes, by internal reflection...
at Teel's Marsh
Teel's Marsh
Teel's Marsh is a playa in Nevada, USA. It was the site of "Borax" Smith's first borax works at Marietta, Nevada in 1872, and became the start of his operations that soon became the largest borax operation in the world....
, near the town he would found ten years later, Marietta, Nevada
Marietta, Nevada
-History:The area was extensively prospected by the well-known prospector F.M. "Borax" Smith, and Teel's Marsh near Marietta is often credited with providing Smith his start in the borax business...
. He staked a claim, started a company with his brother Julius Smith, and established a borax
Borax
Borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. It is usually a white powder consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve easily in water.Borax has a wide variety of uses...
works at the edge of the marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
to concentrate the borax
Borax
Borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. It is usually a white powder consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve easily in water.Borax has a wide variety of uses...
crystals and separate them from dirt and other impurities.
In 1877, Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
reported that the Smith Brothers shipped their product in a 30-ton load using two large wagons with a third wagon for food and water drawn by a 24-mule team for 160 miles (257.5 km) across the Great Basin Desert
Great Basin Desert
The Great Basin Desert is an area of nearctic high deserts across parts of Nevada, California, and Utah that extends into the Colorado River watershed , but which is mostly a portion of the central Nevada desert basins of the Great Basin.It along with the Escalante Desert, Mohave Desert, the...
from Marietta to Wadsworth, Nevada
Wadsworth, Nevada
Wadsworth is a census-designated place in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 881 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town was named for General James S. Wadsworth, a Civil War general killed at the battle of the...
where the nearest Central Pacific Railroad
Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad is the former name of the railroad network built between California and Utah, USA that formed part of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" in North America. It is now part of the Union Pacific Railroad. Many 19th century national proposals to build a transcontinental...
siding was.
Death Valley
Columbus Marsh
Columbus Marsh is a playa in Nevada, USA. William Troup discovered cottonball borax at the site in 1870 or 1871. Joseph Mosheimer and Emile K. Stevenot who operated one of the borax concentrating plants at Columbus hired Francis Marion Smith to cut wood for their plant on nearby Miller Mountain...
and Fish Lake. Then in 1884, Smith bought out his brother. While reduced operations continued at Teels
Teel's Marsh
Teel's Marsh is a playa in Nevada, USA. It was the site of "Borax" Smith's first borax works at Marietta, Nevada in 1872, and became the start of his operations that soon became the largest borax operation in the world....
, Smith now focused his energies and borax mining in Death Valley
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America. Badwater, a basin located in Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below...
and at the 20 Mule Team Canyon mine in the Amargosa Range
Amargosa Range
The Amargosa Range is a mountain range in Inyo County, California and Nye County, Nevada. The range runs along most of the eastern side of California's Death Valley, separating it from Nevada's Amargosa Desert...
to the east. In 1890, upon William Tell Coleman
William Tell Coleman
William Tell Coleman was an American pioneer. He was born in Cynthiana, Harrison County, Kentucky, and was educated at St. Louis University.-Committees of Vigilance:...
's Harmony Borax Works
Harmony Borax Works
The Harmony Borax Works are located in Death Valley at Furnace Creek Springs, then called Greenland. They are now within Death Valley National Park in Inyo County, California...
financial overextension, he acquired Coleman's borax works and holdings in western Nevada, the Death Valley region, and in the Calico Mountains
Calico Mountains
The Calico Mountains of California are located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County and Inyo County, California.-Geography:The Calico Mountains are geologically and historically colorful range that lie in a northwest-southeast direction, and are located just north of Barstow and Yermo, and...
near Yermo, California
Yermo, California
Yermo is a town in San Bernardino County, California. Its name is derived from the Spanish word for wilderness. It is located 13 miles east of Barstow in the Mojave Desert on Interstate 15, just south of the Calico Mountains...
. Smith then consolidated them with his own holdings to form the Pacific Coast Borax Company
Pacific Coast Borax Company
The Pacific Coast Borax Company was a United States mining company founded in 1890 by the American borax magnate Francis "Borax" Smith, the "Borax King".-History:...
in 1890.
Smith's Pacific Coast Borax Company then established and aggressively promoted the 20-Mule-Team Borax
Twenty-Mule-Team Borax
20 Mule Team Borax is a brand of cleaner manufactured by the U.S. soap firm Dial Corporation. The product is named after the 20-mule teams that were used by William Tell Coleman's company to move borax out of Death Valley, California, to the nearest rail spur between 1883 and 1889.Mule teams were...
brand and trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
, which was named after the Twenty Mule Team
Twenty mule team
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. They traveled from mines across the Mojave Desert to the nearest railroad spur, 165 miles away in Mojave, California...
s that Coleman had used, from 1883 to 1889, to transport borax out of Death Valley to the closest railroad in Mojave, California
Mojave, California
Mojave is a census-designated place in Kern County, California, United States. Mojave is located east of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 2762 feet...
(and as Smith himself had developed even earlier at his borax work in Nevada - see above). The idea came from Smith's Advertising Manager, Stephen Mather, later owner of Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company, and in 1916 appointed the first Chief of the new National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
.
Other mines
Activity at Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley ceased with the development of the richer ColemaniteColemanite
Colemanite is a borate mineral found in evaporite deposits of alkaline lacustrine environments. Colemanite is a secondary mineral that forms by alteration of borax and ulexite....
borax deposits at Borate in the Calico Mountains
Calico Mountains
The Calico Mountains of California are located in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County and Inyo County, California.-Geography:The Calico Mountains are geologically and historically colorful range that lie in a northwest-southeast direction, and are located just north of Barstow and Yermo, and...
, which were discovered in 1882 and began operations in 1890, where they continued until 1907. Initial hauling to the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad was done again by the 20 mule team
Twenty mule team
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. They traveled from mines across the Mojave Desert to the nearest railroad spur, 165 miles away in Mojave, California...
s, but were retired as soon as a Smith completed the 12 miles (19.3 km) long Borate and Daggett Railroad
Borate and Daggett Railroad
The Borate and Daggett Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad built to carry borax in the Mojave Desert. The railroad ran about 11 miles from Daggett, California, USA to Borate, California, USA.-History:...
.
In 1899, Smith had joined forces with Richard C. Baker
Richard C. Baker
Richard C. Baker was the British business partner of Francis Marion "Borax" Smith and eventually became president of the Pacific Coast Borax Company and the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad....
to form the Borax Consolidated, Ltd. Together, they formed a multinational mining conglomerate, in which Smith had the controlling interest. Baker expanded the company's foreign acquisitions in Italy, Turkey, and South America and was largely responsible for capitally financing the corporation's expansion. The incorporation of Borax Consolidated, Ltd. included the Sterling Borax Company and the Suckow Property Though not developed by Smith then, the Sukow property he obtained eventually went on to become the largest open pit mine in California where today almost half of the world's borates are currently mined.
When the deposits at Borate neared depletion, work began near Death Valley Junction
Death Valley Junction, California
Death Valley Junction is a tiny Mojave Desert community in unincorporated Inyo County, California, at the intersection of SR 190 and SR 127, just east of Death Valley National Park. The zip code is 92328, the elevation is , and the population fewer than 20. The city limits sign reports a...
to develop nearby claims at what became known as the Lila C Mine in 1907. Again, long mule teams were used in the early years while Smith constructed the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad
Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad
The Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad, the T&T, was a class II railroad extending through remote reaches of the Mojave Desert from the Santa Fe Railway railhead at Ludlow, California, through Death Valley and Amargosa Valley, terminating at the Mining towns of Tonopah and Goldfield in the Great Basin...
connecting with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad across the Mojave River
Mojave River
The Mojave River is an intermittent river in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains and Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. The river is notable as most of its flow is underground, while its surface channels remain dry most of the time, with the exception of the headwaters and several...
and Kelso Dunes
Kelso Dunes
Kelso Dunes, also known as the Kelso Dune Field, is the largest field of eolian sand deposits in the Mojave Desert. The region is protected by the Mojave National Preserve and is located near the town of Baker, San Bernardino County, California and the Preserve Visitor Center...
at Ludlow, California
Ludlow, California
Ludlow is a small town in the Mojave Desert on Interstate 40, located in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The older remains of the ghost town are along historic Route 66.-Geography:...
.
While operating at this location, Smith purchased the Boric acid
Boric acid
Boric acid, also called hydrogen borate or boracic acid or orthoboric acid or acidum boricum, is a weak acid of boron often used as an antiseptic, insecticide, flame retardant, as a neutron absorber, and as a precursor of other chemical compounds. It exists in the form of colorless crystals or a...
mineral rights at the "Suckow claims" at Boron, California
Boron, California
Boron is a census-designated place in Kern County, California, United States. Boron is located east-southeast of Castle Butte, at an elevation of 2467 feet . The population was 2,253 at the 2010 census, up from 2,025 at the 2000 census...
between Barstow
Barstow, California
Barstow is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 22,639 at the 2010 census, up from 21,119 at the 2000 census. Barstow is located north of San Bernardino....
and Mojave and east of present day Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, Los Angeles County, and San Bernardino County, California, in the Antelope Valley. It is southwest of the central business district of North Edwards, California and due east of Rosamond.It is named in...
. Though never developed by Smith's Pacific Coast Borax Company, his corporate successors have obtained all their borax minerals from the Suckow claims for more than 75 years, and estimate remaining deposits will last for nearly as long. It is now California's largest open-pit mine
Open-pit mining
Open-pit mining or opencast mining refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow....
, which is also the largest borax mine in the world.
Last mining
In 1913, Smith became financially overextended and had to turn over his assets to creditors who refused to extend new loans. After winning a lawsuit to protect his wife's interest in a silver mine in Tonopah, NevadaTonopah, Nevada
Tonopah is a census-designated place located in and the county seat of Nye County, Nevada. It is located at the junction of U.S. Routes 6 and 95 approximately mid-way between Las Vegas and Reno....
, he acquired mineral rights to a large section of Searles Lake
Searles Lake
Searles Lake is an endorheic dry lake in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, with the mining community, Trona on its western shore. The evaporite basin is approximately long and at its widest point, yielding 1.7 million tons annually of industrial minerals within the basin to...
in the Panamint Valley
Panamint Valley
The Panamint Valley is a long basin located east of the Argus Range and Slate Range, and west of the Panamint Range in the northeastern reach of the Mojave Desert, in eastern California, United States.-Geography:...
over the Panamint Range
Panamint Range
The Panamint Range is a short rugged fault-block mountain range on the northern edge of the Mojave Desert, in Death Valley National Park, Inyo County, California, United States.-Geography:...
from Death Valley, in northern San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County, California
San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...
. However, finding a profitable way to convert the extensive lake brines into borax and other important commercial mineral salts products, proved elusive for roughly a decade.
In the meantime, he outbid the new owners of his company for the rights to a rich borax discovery in Nevada's Muddy Mountains
Muddy Mountains
The Muddy Mountains are a mountain range in Clark County, Nevada....
, in Callville Wash, under present day Lake Mead
Lake Mead
Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States. It is located on the Colorado River about southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the states of Nevada and Arizona. Formed by water impounded by the Hoover Dam, it extends behind the dam, holding approximately of water.-History:The lake was...
. He called his operations there the Anniversary Mine as the claims were acquired on the anniversary of his marriage to his second wife. The profits from this claim provided the capital to develop the Searles Lake deposits when a young chemist, Henry Helmers, discovered a profitable process for refining the lake brines into marketable products. He built the Trona Railway
Trona Railway
The Trona Railway is a shortline railroad owned by Searles Valley Minerals.The TRC interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad at Searles, California....
, a Short-line railroad, to ship the products to the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
connection at Searles, California
Searles, California
Searles is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California. It is located on the Union Pacific Railroad north of Randsburg, at an elevation of 3245 feet ....
. The operation and railroad is now under Searles Valley Minerals.
Other accomplishments
Smith married Mary Rebecca Thompson (Mollie) and settled in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
in 1881 where in 1896 he acquired an estate and constructed a mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
, across the street from the Twelfth and Jefferson location of Oakland High School
Oakland High School (California)
Oakland Senior High School is a public high school in California. Established in 1869, it is the oldest high school in Oakland, California and the sixth oldest high school in the state.-Background:...
's second campus, where he lived until 3 years prior to his death in 1931. After Mollie died in 1905 at age 55, he remarried in 1906 to Evelyn Kate Ellis, a Shelter Island
Shelter Island (town), New York
Shelter Island is a town and island at the eastern end of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It forms the tip of Suffolk County and is separated from the rest of the county by water. The population was 2,228 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
socialite.
Rail and Real Estate
Smith also developed a special interest in expanding his business into rail transportation and real estate. His first railroad, the narrow-gauge Borate and Daggett RailroadBorate and Daggett Railroad
The Borate and Daggett Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad built to carry borax in the Mojave Desert. The railroad ran about 11 miles from Daggett, California, USA to Borate, California, USA.-History:...
was built only to ship borax. Later, however, Smith created the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad
Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad
The Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad, the T&T, was a class II railroad extending through remote reaches of the Mojave Desert from the Santa Fe Railway railhead at Ludlow, California, through Death Valley and Amargosa Valley, terminating at the Mining towns of Tonopah and Goldfield in the Great Basin...
, not only to ship borax, but also with an eye on the ore and passengers from the boomtown of Rhyolite, Nevada
Rhyolite, Nevada
Rhyolite is a ghost town in Nye County, in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is located in the Bullfrog Hills, about northwest of Las Vegas, near the eastern edge of Death Valley. The town began in early 1905 as one of several mining camps that sprang up after a prospecting discovery in the surrounding...
in the Bullfrog Mining District. This line was built in direct competition with the "Copper King" William A. Clark's Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad
Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad
The Las Vegas and Tonopah Railroad was a 197.9 mile railroad built by William A. Clark that ran northwest from a connection with the mainline of the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad at Las Vegas, Nevada to the gold mines at Goldfield...
.
Frank C. Havens
Frank Colton Havens was born into one of the founding families of Shelter Island, New York, the son of Wickham Havens of Sag Harbor.-Biography:...
in creating the extensive Key System
Key System
The Key System was a privately owned company which provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area from 1903 until 1960, when the system was sold to a newly formed public...
, a major urban and suburban commuter train, ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
and streetcar system serving the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
. The development of the Key System supported interests in a significant real estate development company also, with such projects as the 1907 Key Route Inn
Key Route Inn
The Key Route Inn was a major hotel in Oakland, California in the early decades of the 20th century. It was constructed by the Realty Syndicate of Francis "Borax" Smith and Frank C. Havens, a subsidiary of which was the Key Route transit system. The Inn first opened on May 7, 1907 straddling what...
and 1915 Claremont Hotel
Claremont Resort
The Claremont Hotel Club & Spa is a historic hotel at the foot of Claremont Canyon in the Berkeley Hills, providing the resort with scenic views of San Francisco Bay. The hotel building is entirely in Oakland, bordering Berkeley....
. Smith also built Idora Park
Idora Park
Idora Park was a Victorian era trolley park in north Oakland, California constructed in 1904 on the site of an informal park setting called Ayala Park on the north banks of Temescal Creek. Idora Park was leased by the Ingersoll Pleasure and Amusement Park Company that ran several eastern pleasure...
, a Trolley park
Trolley park
In the United States, trolley parks, which started in the 19th century, were picnic and recreation areas along or at the ends of streetcar lines in most of the larger cities. These were precursors to amusement parks. These trolley parks were created by the streetcar companies to give people a...
on the banks of Temescal Creek in north Oakland to attract riders to the trolleys on weekends.
Smith commissioned one of America’s first Reinforced Concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
buildings, the Pacific Coast Borax Company refinery, in Alameda, California
Alameda, California
Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...
in 1893. The architect was Ernest L. Ransome
Ernest L. Ransome
Ernest Leslie Ransome was an English-born engineer, architect, and early innovator in reinforced concrete building techniques. Ransome devised the most sophisticated concrete structures in the United States at the time....
.
Charitable work
With his fortune from the biggest Borax company in the world, in 1892 Smith purchased 435 acres (1.8 km²) and built a thirty-five room summer estate, Presdeleau, on Shelter IslandShelter Island (town), New York
Shelter Island is a town and island at the eastern end of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It forms the tip of Suffolk County and is separated from the rest of the county by water. The population was 2,228 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
at the upper end of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Smith was involved in some way in most significant charitable and community events during his lifetime, and frequently made his estates in Oakland and Shelter Island available for fundraising activities, involving his children in running games and booths.
Frank Smith served as an Electoral College presidential elector in the 1912 election. He made his fine carriage available for use by Presidents Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
and William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
during their visits to his adopted hometown of Oakland. The carriage is now on display at the Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California or Oakland Museum is a museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California located in Oakland, California....
.
Last years
After suffering a major stroke at age 78 in 1928, Smith moved with his wife from their Oakland mansionMansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
and estate into a smaller residence across Lake Merritt
Lake Merritt
Lake Merritt is a large tidal lagoon that lies just east of downtown Oakland, California. It is surrounded by parkland and city neighborhoods. A popular 3.1 mile walking and jogging path runs along its perimeter...
in the Adams Point neighborhood
Adams Point, Oakland, California
Adams Point is a neighborhood of Oakland, California. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Merritt, directly adjacent to Downtown Oakland and the Grand Lake district. It is a triangle bounded by Grand Avenue on the south, Harrison Street on the northwest, and the MacArthur Freeway on the...
. Prior to moving, several large pieces of the estate's gardens had been sold on which more modest homes were built. With the stock market crash of 1929, no buyer could be found for the remaining estate and shortly after his death the mansion was demolished after many remarkable and marketable fixtures were removed and sold.
Francis Marion Smith died in Oakland in 1931 at the age of 85. He is buried in the Mountain View Cemetery of Oakland, along "Millionaires Row".
Legacy
Supporting his first wife's desire to provide homelike accommodations for orphaned girls, Smith used part of his fortune to finance the construction and operation of 13 residential homes. Each home had a house mother selected by Mrs. Smith, who was directed to provide as close to a normal homelife for the girls under her care as possible. In addition to the homes, Smith provided a social hall called The Home Club, that was located on the site of the current Oakland High School. Only the stairway from Park Blvd. remains today. The homes continued in operation for many decades, and several are still standing. As the State took over providing for orphans, the funds in the Mary R. Smith Trust were redirected to providing nursing education for qualified young women.The Western Railway Museum
Western Railway Museum
The Western Railway Museum, in Solano County, California is located on Highway 12 between Rio Vista and Suisun. The museum is built along the former mainline of theSacramento Northern Railway...
's archives wing is named for Francis Marion "Borax" Smith. The museum, located in Solano County, California
Solano County, California
Solano County is a county located in Bay-Delta region of the U.S. state of California, about halfway between San Francisco and Sacramento and is one of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. The county's population was reported by the U.S. Census to be 413,344 in 2010...
on California State Route 12, includes several operating street cars and transbay trains that operated on the Key System
Key System
The Key System was a privately owned company which provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area from 1903 until 1960, when the system was sold to a newly formed public...
lines in Oakland and adjacent cities on the east side of San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
.
The Francis Marion Smith Park, on land from a portion of his former estate donated by he and his wife, is on Park Boulevard in Oakland.
In Death Valley
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America. Badwater, a basin located in Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below...
, Smith Mountain
Smith Mountain (Death Valley)
Smith Mountain, , is a peak in the Amargosa Range in Death Valley National Park in California.It is named after Francis Marion "Borax" Smith, of the local Pacific Coast Borax Company enterprise.-See also:*20 Mule Team Borax*Harmony Borax Works...
, a 5915 feet (1,802.9 m) peak in the Amargosa Range
Amargosa Range
The Amargosa Range is a mountain range in Inyo County, California and Nye County, Nevada. The range runs along most of the eastern side of California's Death Valley, separating it from Nevada's Amargosa Desert...
, is named in his honor.
On Shelter Island, NY
Shelter Island (town), New York
Shelter Island is a town and island at the eastern end of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It forms the tip of Suffolk County and is separated from the rest of the county by water. The population was 2,228 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, Smith Street and Smith Cove are named for him.
"Borax" Smith is a character in the historical fiction novel Carter Beats the Devil
Carter Beats the Devil
Carter Beats The Devil is a historical mystery thriller novel by Glen David Gold-Plot introduction:The 1920s was a golden age for stage magic and Charles Carter is an American stage magician at the height of his fame and powers. At the climax of his latest touring stage show, Carter invites United...
by Glen David Gold
Glen David Gold
Glen David Gold is known as the author of Carter Beats the Devil, a fictionalized biography of Charles Joseph Carter , an American illusionist performing from c.1900-1936 and Sunnyside. He writes in a narrative style, and the book was hailed as a very respectable venture into historical fiction...
(ISBN 0-7868-8632-3) and the main character in Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
's novel Burning Daylight
Burning Daylight
Burning Daylight, Jack London's fictional novel published in 1910, was one of the best selling books of that year and it was his best selling book in his lifetime. The novel takes place in the Yukon Territory in 1893. The main character, nicknamed Burning Daylight was the most successful...
was partially based on his life.