John Wesley Powell (1834–1902) was born in the middle of America’s westward expansion, and his contribution to understanding that vast portion of the continent can hardly be overstated.
Powell’s family moved from northwest New York to Ohio in 1838 and then to Wisconsin in 1846. As a boy he developed a keen interest in nature and exploration, as he trekked through his immediate surroundings in the northern territories (Ohio became a state in 1803, but Wisconsin was a U.S. Territory from 1836 until 1848).
Adventure and War
In his early 20s, he paddled down both the Mississippi River from the Falls of St. Anthony to its mouth, then the Ohio River from Pittsburgh to its mouth, and then the Illinois River from its mouth to Des Moines. The year after traveling the Illinois River in 1858, he was elected secretary of the Illinois Natural History Society Museum (INHSM).When the Civil War broke out in April 1861, he enlisted with the Union the following month as a topographer, cartographer, and military engineer in the 20th Illinois Volunteers. When the company commander resigned, Powell was promoted to second lieutenant and commander of the company. Five months later, he was permitted to leave the front lines to marry Emma Dean, his cousin. Dean was given permission to come with Powell back to the war front. Dean would be known for joining her husband on many of his ventures.
While fighting at the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862, one of the Civil War’s deadliest battles, Powell, as captain of battery F of the 2nd Illinois Light Artillery, became one of the nearly 24,000 casualties. When signaling to fire, a minie ball struck his right wrist, which resulted in the amputation of his forearm.
On to Colorado and the Colorado River
With the war over, Powell could return to what he loved most: geology and exploration. Late in 1865, he became professor of geology at Illinois Wesleyan University, and then curator of the INHSM in the spring of 1867. Just as with the classroom setting, however, Powell was again drawn to the outdoors.
That same year, he organized a 12-man expedition to Colorado, which included his wife. This expedition collected animal and plant specimens along the Rocky Mountains, and included mounting Pikes Peak. Mrs. Powell became the first woman to reach its summit.
In 1868, Powell began preparation to pursue a different Colorado―the Colorado River. There were 23 in this expedition, including his wife. The objective was to travel and survey the Colorado River and its tributaries, including what Powell called “the Great Unknown” (that is, the Grand Canyon). Very little of this area was known and it would truly be a dangerous, yet nationally historic moment―if the expedition survived.
On May 24, 1869, Powell and nine others launched their four boats (Powell’s was christened the Emma Dean) down the Green River from Green River, Wyoming for a 1,000-mile journey. By its end, there would only be six men left, though none were killed on the journey itself. Frank Goodman, an Englishman, was the first to leave the expedition. William Dunn and the Howland brothers, Seneca and Oramel G., proclaimed to Powell that “we surely will all die if we continue on this journey” and therefore left the expedition. They left, though the expedition would be completed successfully two days later. They, however, met a tragic end as they were killed by local Native Americans due to a deadly case of mistaken identity. Powell was heralded a national hero upon his return.
The Powell Legacy
Powell didn’t simply traverse the rivers west of the Mississippi (including the Mississippi), but he understood their importance and how they could be used and manipulated in order to provide water for dry areas in the expanded west. Although Congress during his day refused to listen to many of his accurate assessments on water rationing and the necessity of building dams, his ideas were acted upon in the decades following his death.
In 1902, the year Powell died, the Bureau of Reclamation was established and began creating dams and canals throughout the American West. These projects, which had originated from Powell, have ensured the irrigation of more than 4 million acres of land, the generation of more than 4,000 megawatts of electricity, and the availability of drinking water to large cities, including Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, and Tucson. The bureau also established the Hoover Dam, which resulted in Lake Mead, as well as Glen Canyon Dam (named by Powell), which resulted in Lake Powell, a 185-mile-long lake named in Powell’s honor.
