The Oakland City Council's Public Works Committee unanimously recommended Tuesday the council approve the deal, which has been in the works for more than a year. The council will take up the issue July 6.

The concrete and Fiberglas mules were part of a miniature western mining town dubbed "Harmony Borax," complete with fancy hotel, livery stable, blacksmith, shops and jail. They hauled a massive wagon, a replica of the mineral-laden wagons Smith's famous 20-mule teams lugged across 167 miles of forbidding Death Valley mountains and desert from the mine to the nearest railroad.

Smith first discovered a rich deposit of borate at Teel's Marsh, Nevada in 1872, and expanded his mining operations to Death Valley soon after. He eventually settled in Oakland and built an ornate estate up the hill from the park, called Arbor Villa. Smith also created the Key Route System of electric trains and ferries that ran throughout the East Bay and transported workers to San Francisco.

Two of Smith's daughters donated money to create the pint-sized theme park, which was unveiled when the Park Boulevard Recreation Center was renamed the Francis Marion Smith Recreation Center in June 1969 to recognize the Oakland pioneer who donated the land to the city for a park in 1912.

But the small town fell into disrepair. The rotted wood of the wagons and buildings became a hazard for children, and the theme park eventually was torn down.

All that remained were the four mules and a signpost pointing the way from Death Valley to Stove Pipe Wells, 22 miles, or Mojave, 162 miles. A gravestone for Smith's favorite mule, Smokey, was covered with ivy.

A neighbor rescued the mules from the scrap heap after he noticed they were gone. The mules will be mounted on a simple concrete platform, with a low fence around them to discourage people from climbing on the statues.

E-mail Heather MacDonald at hmacdonald@angnewspapers.com.

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
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