John Wesley Powell

John Wesley Powell

1834–1902. One-armed Civil War veteran and geologist who led the first known boat journeys through the canyons of the Green and Colorado, then spent his career arguing that the dry West be settled around its water.

Major John Wesley Powell at his desk in Washington, about 1896.
Major John Wesley Powell at his desk in Washington, about 1896.Smithsonian Institution, via the USGS Portraits Collection. Public domain · source

His life

  1. Mar 24, 1834Born in Mount Morris, New York.1,2
  2. 1861Enlisted as a private in the 20th Illinois Infantry when the Civil War began; he raised Battery F, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery and led it as its captain.3,2
  3. Apr 6, 1862At the Battle of Shiloh a Minié ball shattered his right arm, which was amputated. He stayed in the army and ended the war a major, the title he kept for life.2,1
  4. 1862Married Emma Dean. The pilot boat of his 1869 expedition was named the Emma Dean.4,5
  5. 1865Became professor of geology and curator of the museum at Illinois Wesleyan University.4
  6. 1868–80Recorded the languages and stories of the Numic-speaking peoples, among them the Southern Paiute and Ute.6
  7. May 24, 1869Pushed off from Green River, Wyoming, with nine men and four wooden boats to run the Green and Colorado through their unmapped canyons.5,2
  8. Aug 1869At Separation Rapid, deep in the Grand Canyon, Oramel and Seneca Howland and William Dunn left on foot rather than face the water; they never reached the settlements, and how they died is still argued. Two days later the six who stayed reached the mouth of the Virgin River.7,5
  9. 1871–72Led a second, better-equipped expedition that mapped and photographed the canyons; its photographer, John K. Hillers, made many of the survey photos on this site.2
  10. 1875Published his account of the river journeys, Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its Tributaries.8
  11. 1878His Report on the Lands of the Arid Region warned that most of the West was too dry for the 160-acre homestead. He proposed districts drawn by watershed, small irrigated farms, and water rights that went with the land. Congress did not adopt it.9,2
  12. 1879–1902First director of the Smithsonian's Bureau of Ethnology.10,2
  13. 1881–1894Second director of the U.S. Geological Survey, after Clarence King.10
  14. Sep 23, 1902Died at Haven, Maine; buried at Arlington National Cemetery.11,12
  15. 1960sThe reservoir filling behind Glen Canyon Dam, finished in 1963, was named Lake Powell in his honor.13,2

Pictures

Powell's second expedition at Green River, Wyoming, before the start in 1871, with its three boats, the Cañonita, Emma Dean and Nellie Powell.
Powell's second expedition at Green River, Wyoming, before the start in 1871, with its three boats, the Cañonita, Emma Dean and Nellie Powell.Powell Survey (E. O. Beaman), 1871. U.S. National Archives, public domain · source
The Emma Dean at the foot of a rapid at the head of Hell's Half Mile, Canyon of Lodore, June 1871, with Jones, Hillers and Dellenbaugh aboard.
The Emma Dean at the foot of a rapid at the head of Hell's Half Mile, Canyon of Lodore, June 1871, with Jones, Hillers and Dellenbaugh aboard.Powell Survey, 1871. U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · source
The boats below Ashley Falls in Red Canyon on the Green, 1871, after the men had carried them around the falls.
The boats below Ashley Falls in Red Canyon on the Green, 1871, after the men had carried them around the falls.Powell Survey (E. O. Beaman), 1871. U.S. National Archives, public domain · source
Boats of the 1872 expedition on the Colorado. Dellenbaugh's book called it "A Halt for Observations".
Boats of the 1872 expedition on the Colorado. Dellenbaugh's book called it "A Halt for Observations".Powell Survey. U.S. National Archives, public domain · source
The men of the second expedition: W. C. Powell, J. F. Steward, F. M. Bishop, J. W. Powell, A. H. Thompson, J. K. Hillers, F. S. Dellenbaugh and S. V. Jones.
The men of the second expedition: W. C. Powell, J. F. Steward, F. M. Bishop, J. W. Powell, A. H. Thompson, J. K. Hillers, F. S. Dellenbaugh and S. V. Jones.From Frederick Dellenbaugh, The Romance of the Colorado River (1902). Public domain · source
Frederick Dellenbaugh, the expedition's young artist, in his exploring clothes: a shirt, cotton overalls, hobnailed shoes and a felt hat.
Frederick Dellenbaugh, the expedition's young artist, in his exploring clothes: a shirt, cotton overalls, hobnailed shoes and a felt hat.Tintype by John K. Hillers, from Dellenbaugh, The Romance of the Colorado River. Public domain · source
Zion Canyon, painted by Frederick Dellenbaugh in 1903.
Zion Canyon, painted by Frederick Dellenbaugh in 1903.Frederick S. Dellenbaugh, 1903. Zion National Park museum collection, public domain · source
Powell with Tau-gu, a Southern Paiute leader, above the Virgin River, about 1873.
Powell with Tau-gu, a Southern Paiute leader, above the Virgin River, about 1873.Powell Survey. Grand Canyon National Park museum collection (NPS), public domain · source
Sources
  1. Utah Geological Survey, Survey Notes: Major John Wesley Powell, 1834-1902
  2. Wikipedia: John Wesley Powell
  3. Wikipedia: Battery F, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery Regiment
  4. Utah Division of State History: John Wesley Powell
  5. Kaibab.org: The Powell Expedition
  6. Fowler and Fowler, eds. (1971): Anthropology of the Numa, John Wesley Powell's manuscripts on the Numic peoples, 1868-1880 (Smithsonian)
  7. Arizona Highways: The Deadly Lure of Separation Canyon
  8. Powell (1875): Exploration of the Colorado River of the West and its Tributaries (Wikimedia Commons scan)
  9. Powell (1878): Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States (Project Gutenberg)
  10. USGS: John Wesley Powell, 2nd Director of the U.S. Geological Survey
  11. Geological Society of America: The GSA and its founders, John Wesley Powell
  12. The grave of John Wesley Powell, Arlington National Cemetery (Mountain Beltway)
  13. Historical Marker Database: Major John Wesley Powell plaque, Lake Powell

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