Desert Gazette

Timelines

List

Tag: Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad

  • Shoshone – Tecopa

    10,000 BCE – 1700s
    Native peoples, including the Southern Paiute and Western Shoshone, used the Tecopa, Shoshone, Resting Springs, and Amargosa River areas for thousands of years. Springs like Willow Creek and Ibex Springs supported seasonal camps and trade routes connecting the Mojave Desert to the Great Basin.

    1829–1830
    Antonio Armijo led the first successful trade caravan along what became known as the Old Spanish Trail. His route passed near Resting Springs and the future sites of Tecopa and Shoshone, helping establish a commercial corridor between New Mexico and California.

    1844–1859
    Resting Springs became an important stop on the Mormon Road, used by emigrants and freight teams. Conflicts occurred between Native groups and travelers. Chief Tecopa led local Paiute resistance before later reaching a peace agreement with settlers. In 1859, Lt. Williamson of the U.S. Army surveyed and recorded Resting Springs as a critical water stop.

    1875–1880s
    A mining boom brought the founding of Brownsville, later renamed Tecopa, near Willow Creek. Prospectors also worked claims at Ibex Springs, building stone cabins and hauling ore by mule. Resting Springs was reoccupied briefly as a supply stop. Tecopa declined after richer discoveries nearby.

    1900
    Quon Sing, also known as Ah Foo, developed China Ranch near Tecopa by irrigating fields along Willow Creek. He grew fruit and raised livestock, leaving a legacy that remains part of the landscape today.

    1907
    The Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad reached Tecopa and Shoshone. A new townsite, called the Tecopa Triangle, was built closer to the rail line. Mining resumed with easier access to markets.

    1910
    Shoshone was founded by “Dad” Fairbanks as a rail stop and supply point for nearby mines. It soon had a general store, schoolhouse, and housing for workers.

    1920s
    Mining activity increased at Ibex Springs. Shoshone continued to grow, and Tecopa Hot Springs began to attract visitors as a health retreat. The Shoshone post office was moved from the ghost town of Greenwater.

    1930s
    Women in Shoshone built the Flower Building for community events. Miners lived in hand-dug dwellings at Dublin Gulch. Mining at Ibex Springs continued at a small scale.

    1957
    Major mining operations in Tecopa ended. The town shifted toward tourism and retirement. Shoshone remained a traveler’s stop on the way to Death Valley.

    1960s–1970s
    Under the Small Tracts Act, new homes were built in Tecopa Heights. Ibex Springs was abandoned. Conservation efforts began to grow for the Kingston Range and Amargosa Basin.

    1976
    The area was included in the California Desert Conservation Area, giving it federal protection. Resting Springs was identified as a riparian habitat and cultural site.

    1994
    Death Valley became a National Park. Shoshone’s role as a gateway town increased. The Kingston Range and Nopah Range were designated as wilderness areas, preserving places like Ibex Springs.

    2000s–present
    The Amargosa Conservancy acquired and protected lands around Tecopa, China Ranch, and the river. Shoshone established a museum and promotes its heritage. Tecopa hosts annual events such as the Tecopa Takeover and Firehouse Fling. A public water kiosk was installed in Tecopa Heights. Ibex Springs remains accessible by high-clearance vehicle, with stone ruins and old mining structures still visible.

  • Death Valley Railroad

    The Death Valley Railroad (DVRR) was a short-line narrow-gauge railroad built to support borax mining in one of the harshest and most remote regions of the American West. Though just 20 miles long, it played a major role in the borax industry during the early 20th century.

    Origins and Purpose (1914):
    The DVRR was built in 1914 by the Pacific Coast Borax Company, which was transitioning from using massive twenty-mule teams to more efficient rail transportation. The railroad connected the mining town of Ryan, California, located on the western slope of the Funeral Mountains, with the Tonopah & Tidewater Railroad at Death Valley Junction, just across the border in Nevada. This made it easier to haul borax out of the desert and get it to market.

    Billie Mine/ Ryan

    Construction and Equipment:
    The line was narrow gauge (3 feet wide), which made it easier to build in the rugged terrain of Death Valley. The DVRR used two Baldwin-built 2-8-0 “Consolidation” type steam locomotives—No. 1 (built in 1914) and No. 2 (built in 1916)—which pulled ore cars loaded with borates from the mines at Ryan to Death Valley Junction. From there, the Tonopah & Tidewater carried the loads further to the mainline railroads.

    Working Conditions:
    Life along the DVRR wasn’t easy. The heat was intense, water was scarce, and the terrain unforgiving. Workers lived in company housing at Ryan, where the Pacific Coast Borax Company built a full company town—complete with school, post office, and even a movie theater.

    Decline and Closure (1930):
    By 1928, the main borax mine at Ryan was exhausted, and by 1930, the DVRR was officially shut down. The equipment, including locomotives and rolling stock, was sold to the United States Potash Company in New Mexico, where they were used in similar work until the 1950s.

    Legacy:
    Though it operated for only 16 years, the Death Valley Railroad represents a key transition in the desert’s industrial history—from mule teams to steam power. The railbed can still be traced in places, and some of the original structures at Ryan still stand. Today, Locomotive No. 2 is preserved at the Borax Museum in Furnace Creek, while No. 1 is on display in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

    The DVRR was a brief but vital chapter in the saga of mining in Death Valley—a rugged little line that conquered heat, grade, and distance in service to the white gold of the desert.