In the 1880s borax was also mined in the upper Piru Creek watershed by the Frazier Borate Company. The Frazier Borate Company established the town of Stauffer in the late 1890s. In 1905 the town received its own post office. However, the mines closed soon afterward and the town went into decline, though it was not abandoned completely until 1942. The Russell Borate Mining Company also acquired land in the Piru Creek area in 1907. By 1912, the Russell mine was the only one left in operation. Ultimately, all the mines were abandoned because of competitions from borax operations in Death Valley.