Searles Valley
When people talk about the Searles Valley, they are really talking about a company-built world shaped by salt, borax, and soda ash. Out there in the desert, three small towns grew up around the dry lakebed—Trona, Borosolvay, and Argus—each tied to the fortunes of the chemical plants that gave them life.
It all began in 1913, when the American Trona Company set its sights on Searles Lake. The lakebed was rich in minerals, and the company wanted to turn that wealth into profit. To do it, they needed workers, and workers needed a place to live. So the town of Trona was born. Rows of company housing went up, along with a school, stores, and even recreation for the families who made the desert their home. The town took its name from the mineral trona, a natural source of soda ash, which was central to the company’s operations. Life in Trona could be tough—dust storms, heat, and isolation—but it also carried a strong sense of community. Families built their lives around the rhythms of the plant and the desert.
Not long after, Borosolvay appeared. Its very name showed its purpose: “boro” for borax and “Solvay” for the chemical process used to make soda ash. For a time, it was its own settlement, another outpost of industry on the lake. Men worked long hours pulling value from the brines, while their families tried to carve out a bit of normal life in the harsh landscape. Borosolvay didn’t last as long as Trona; over the years it was folded into the larger operations and disappeared as a separate town, but it left its mark as part of the valley’s early expansion.
Then came Argus, built west of Trona. Like Trona, it revolved around its plant, with housing for workers and families who lived by the whistle of the factory. Argus, Trona, and Westend together became a trio of towns that anchored life in the valley. Each had its own identity, but they were bound together by the same industry, the same dust, and the same lakebed that gave them work.
As the decades rolled on, company names changed—American Trona became American Potash & Chemical, then Kerr-McGee, and later Searles Valley Minerals. Through all the shifts, the towns carried on. Children went to school in Trona, football games were played on dirt fields because grass was too hard to keep alive, and generations of families stayed in the valley, tied to the plants that kept running year after year.
Today, Trona is still there, smaller than it once was but alive with the memory of its company-town days. Argus and Westend still stand close by, their roots in the same chemical works that first drew people to the valley. Borosolvay lives on only in stories and old records, a reminder of how much the industry shaped the desert. Together, these towns are more than just places on a map—they are the human side of an industrial saga, where families carved out lives in the Mojave and made a community out of salt, dust, and determination.
Timeline for Trona, Borosolvay, and Argus in the Searles Valley:
1913 American Trona Company establishes the town of Trona to house workers for its new chemical plant. Trona is named for the mineral trona, a source of soda ash.1910s–1920s Borosolvay is built as a separate plant and community in the valley. Its name combines “boro” for borax and “Solvay” for the Solvay process. It operates during the early years of industrial expansion on Searles Lake.
1920s–1930s Argus develops west of Trona as another company town, centered on its own processing plant. Along with Westend, these three settlements—Trona, Argus, and Westend—form the industrial heart of the valley.
1930s–1960s American Trona becomes American Potash & Chemical. The operations expand, and the three towns continue to serve workers and their families. Borosolvay is gradually absorbed and disappears as a separate entity.
1967 Kerr-McGee acquires the chemical plants and operations in Searles Valley, continuing production of borates and soda ash.
1990s–2000s Ownership shifts again, eventually becoming Searles Valley Minerals, later acquired by international firms.
Present Trona remains an active community, though smaller than its peak years. Argus and Westend are still tied to the plant operations. Borosolvay survives mostly in name and memory as part of the valley’s early industrial history.
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