Those of the more senior of us may remember the Death Valley Days TV show from the mid-50's with Ronald Regan as the teamster of the 20 Mule Team in the Borax advertisements.

The Borax 20 mule team and freight wagons go back to the early 1883, and were used to haul unrefined borax across Death Valley in CA. to the rail-head at Mojave, CA, 165 miles one way that took about ten days. The mules could stand the heat and whereas horses and oxen could not; they were originally bred in the arid regions of Europe. The mules also are more sure-footed than horses due to their smaller and flatter hooves.

Originally the Borax operation had five sets of the wagons, but today only one of the originals exists at the original Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley. The last time a team had been on the east coast was for Inauguration parade of Pres. William McKinley in 1917; that was a restored original wagon train. In the late 1990s the Borax Company built two replica wagon teams. Their first public unveiling of the replica wagons was for the 2017 Rose Bowl Parade, and this year they were part of the Fourth of July parade in DC. Until last week neither no Borax team had been on the East Coast for 100 years. They were hosted here by an MD Eastern Shore farm that also raises and trains mules. The farm owners also donated the wood for the new wagons from timber growing on their land here on the Eastern Shore.

The statistics for the wagons are astounding. The new wagons are almost exact replicas of the original; each wagon box is 16 feet long by 4 feet wide, and I estimate about 6 feet deep. They each weigh about seven tons (empty) and the wheels are 8 inches wide by about 7' (front) & 8' (rear) diameter with a steel tire around the circumference to minimize wear. The wheels alone are 1000 lbs each. The complete rig consisting of the two loaded wagons and the water wagon weighed about 73,000 lbs. (36.5 tons). Two men were used to operate the rig; the driver (or teamster) drove; the second man (the swamper) rode the second wagon and manned the brakes. Just the 20 mule team stretched out for about 120 feet ahead of the wagons.

I've attached some pictures of the team and wagons. The photos have been cropped, but not otherwise edited. Because of the crowds it was impossible to get a shot of the full 20 mule team and the wagons; the last photo is the best I could do.

Those of the more senior of us may remember the Death Valley Days TV show from the mid-50's with Ronald Regan as the teamster of the 20 Mule Team in the Borax advertisements.

The Borax 20 mule team and freight wagons go back to the early 1883, and were used to haul unrefined borax across Death Valley in CA. to the rail-head at Mojave, CA, 165 miles one way that took about ten days. The mules could stand the heat and whereas horses and oxen could not; they were originally bred in the arid regions of Europe. The mules also are more sure-footed than horses due to their smaller and flatter hooves.

Originally the Borax operation had five sets of the wagons, but today only one of the originals exists at the original Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley. The last time a team had been on the east coast was for Inauguration parade of Pres. William McKinley in 1917; that was a restored original wagon train. In the late 1990s the Borax Company built

two replica wagon teams. Their first public unveiling of the replica wagons was for the 2017 Rose Bowl Parade, and this year they were part of the Fourth of July parade in DC. Until last week neither no Borax team had been on the East Coast for 100 years. They were hosted here by an MD Eastern Shore farm that also raises and trains mules. The farm owners also donated the wood for the new wagons from timber growing on their land here on the Eastern Shore.

The statistics for the wagons are astounding. The new wagons are almost exact replicas of the original; each wagon box is 16 feet long by 4 feet wide, and I estimate about 6 feet deep. They each weigh about seven tons (empty) and the wheels are 8 inches wide by about 7' (front) & 8' (rear) diameter with a steel tire around the circumference to minimize wear. The wheels alone are 1000 lbs each. The complete rig consisting of the two loaded wagons and the water wagon weighed about 73,000 lbs. (36.5 tons). Two men were used to operate the rig; the driver (or teamster) drove; the second man (the swamper) rode the second wagon and manned the brakes. Just the 20 mule team stretched out for about 120 feet ahead of the wagons.

I've attached some pictures of the team and wagons. The photos have been cropped, but not otherwise edited. Because of the crowds it was impossible to get a shot of the full 20 mule team and the wagons; the last photo is the best I could do.

Those of the more senior of us may remember the Death Valley Days TV show from the mid-50's with Ronald Regan as the teamster of the 20 Mule Team in the Borax advertisements.

The Borax 20 mule team and freight wagons go back to the early 1883, and were used to haul unrefined borax across Death Valley in CA. to the rail-head at Mojave, CA, 165 miles one way that took about ten days. The mules could stand the heat and whereas horses and oxen could not; they were originally bred in the arid regions of Europe. The mules also are more sure-footed than horses due to their smaller and flatter hooves.

Originally the Borax operation had five sets of the wagons, but today only one of the originals exists at the original Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley. The last time a team had been on the east coast was for Inauguration parade of Pres. William McKinley in 1917; that was a restored original wagon train. In the late 1990s the Borax Company built two replica wagon teams. Their first public unveiling of the replica wagons was for the 2017 Rose Bowl Parade, and this year they were part of the Fourth of July parade in DC. Until last week neither no Borax team had been on the East Coast for 100 years. They were hosted here by an MD Eastern Shore farm that also raises and trains mules. The farm owners also donated the wood for the new wagons from timber growing on their land here on the Eastern Shore.

The statistics for the wagons are astounding. The new wagons are almost exact replicas of the original; each wagon box is 16 feet long by 4 feet wide, and I estimate about 6 feet deep. They each weigh about seven tons (empty) and the wheels are 8 inches wide by about 7' (front) & 8' (rear) diameter with a steel tire around the circumference to minimize wear. The wheels alone are 1000 lbs each. The complete rig consisting of the two loaded wagons and the water wagon weighed about 73,000 lbs. (36.5 tons). Two men were used to operate the rig; the driver (or teamster) drove; the second man (the swamper) rode the second wagon and manned the brakes. Just the 20 mule team stretched out for about 120 feet ahead of the wagons.

I've attached some pictures of the team and wagons. The photos have been cropped, but not otherwise edited. Because of the crowds it was impossible to get a shot of the full 20 mule team and the wagons; the last photo is the best I could do.

Those of the more senior of us may remember the Death Valley Days TV show from the mid-50's with Ronald Regan as the teamster of the 20 Mule Team in the Borax advertisements.

The Borax 20 mule team and freight wagons go back to the early 1883, and were used to haul unrefined borax across Death Valley in CA. to the rail-head at Mojave, CA, 165 miles one way that took about ten days. The mules could stand the heat and whereas horses and oxen could not; they were originally bred in the arid regions of Europe. The mules also are more sure-footed than horses due to their smaller and flatter hooves.

Originally the Borax operation had five sets of the wagons, but today only one of the originals exists at the original Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley. The last time a team had been on the east coast was for Inauguration parade of Pres. William McKinley in 1917; that was a restored original wagon train. In the late 1990s the Borax Company built two replica wagon teams. Their first public unveiling of the replica wagons was for the 2017 Rose Bowl Parade, and this year they were part of the Fourth of July parade in DC. Until last week neither no Borax team had been on the East Coast for 100 years. They were hosted here by an MD Eastern Shore farm that also raises and trains mules. The farm owners also donated the wood for the new wagons from timber growing on their land here on the Eastern Shore.

The statistics for the wagons are astounding. The new wagons are almost exact replicas of the original; each wagon box is 16 feet long by 4 feet wide, and I estimate about 6 feet deep. They each weigh about seven tons (empty) and the wheels are 8 inches wide by about 7' (front) & 8' (rear) diameter with a steel tire around the circumference to minimize wear. The wheels alone are 1000 lbs each. The complete rig consisting of the two loaded wagons and the water wagon weighed about 73,000 lbs. (36.5 tons). Two men were used to operate the rig; the driver (or teamster) drove; the second man (the swamper) rode the second wagon and manned the brakes. Just the 20 mule team stretched out for about 120 feet ahead of the wagons.

I've attached some pictures of the team and wagons. The photos have been cropped, but not otherwise edited. Because of the crowds it was impossible to get a shot of the full 20 mule team and the wagons; the last photo is the best I could do.

Those of the more senior of us may remember the Death Valley Days TV show from the mid-50's with Ronald Regan as the teamster of the 20 Mule Team in the Borax advertisements.

The Borax 20 mule team and freight wagons go back to the early 1883, and were used to haul unrefined borax across Death Valley in CA. to the rail-head at Mojave, CA, 165 miles one way that took about ten days. The mules could stand the heat and whereas horses and oxen could not; they were originally bred in the arid regions of Europe. The mules also are more sure-footed than horses due to their smaller and flatter hooves.

Originally the Borax operation had five sets of the wagons, but today only one of the originals exists at the original Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley. The last time a team had been on the east coast was for Inauguration parade of Pres. William McKinley in 1917; that was a restored original wagon train. In the late 1990s the Borax Company built two replica wagon teams. Their first public unveiling of the replica wagons was for the 2017 Rose Bowl Parade, and this year they were part of the Fourth of July parade in DC. Until last week neither no Borax team had been on the East Coast for 100 years. They were hosted here by an MD Eastern Shore farm that also raises and trains mules. The farm owners also donated the wood for the new wagons from timber growing on their land here on the Eastern Shore.

The statistics for the wagons are astounding. The new wagons are almost exact replicas of the original; each wagon box is 16 feet long by 4 feet wide, and I estimate about 6 feet deep. They each weigh about seven tons (empty) and the wheels are 8 inches wide by about 7' (front) & 8' (rear) diameter with a steel tire around the circumference to minimize wear. The wheels alone are 1000 lbs each. The complete rig consisting of the two loaded wagons and the water wagon weighed about 73,000 lbs. (36.5 tons). Two men were used to operate the rig; the driver (or teamster) drove; the second man (the swamper) rode the second wagon and manned the brakes. Just the 20 mule team stretched out for about 120 feet ahead of the wagons.

I've attached some pictures of the team and wagons. The photos have been cropped, but not otherwise edited. Because of the crowds it was impossible to get a shot of the full 20 mule team and the wagons; the last photo is the best I could do.

Those of the more senior of us may remember the Death Valley Days TV show from the mid-50's with Ronald Regan as the teamster of the 20 Mule Team in the Borax advertisements.

The Borax 20 mule team and freight wagons go back to the early 1883, and were used to haul unrefined borax across Death Valley in CA. to the rail-head at Mojave, CA, 165 miles one way that took about ten days. The mules could stand the heat and whereas horses and oxen could not; they were originally bred in the arid regions of Europe. The mules also are more sure-footed than horses due to their smaller and flatter hooves.

Originally the Borax operation had five sets of the wagons, but today only one of the originals exists at the original Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley. The last time a team had been on the east coast was for Inauguration parade of Pres. William McKinley in 1917; that was a restored original wagon train. In the late 1990s the Borax Company built two replica wagon teams. Their first public unveiling of the replica wagons was for the 2017 Rose Bowl Parade, and this year they were part of the Fourth of July parade in DC. Until last week neither no Borax team had been on the East Coast for 100 years. They were hosted here by an MD Eastern Shore farm that also raises and trains mules. The farm owners also donated the wood for the new wagons from timber growing on their land here on the Eastern Shore.

The statistics for the wagons are astounding. The new wagons are almost exact replicas of the original; each wagon box is 16 feet long by 4 feet wide, and I estimate about 6 feet deep. They each weigh about seven tons (empty) and the wheels are 8 inches wide by about 7' (front) & 8' (rear) diameter with a steel tire around the circumference to minimize wear. The wheels alone are 1000 lbs each. The complete rig consisting of the two loaded wagons and the water wagon weighed about 73,000 lbs. (36.5 tons). Two men were used to operate the rig; the driver (or teamster) drove; the second man (the swamper) rode the second wagon and manned the brakes. Just the 20 mule team stretched out for about 120 feet ahead of the wagons.

I've attached some pictures of the team and wagons. The photos have been cropped, but not otherwise edited. Because of the crowds it was impossible to get a shot of the full 20 mule team and the wagons; the last photo is the best I could do.