Powell, Ernest Malapert
Ozona, Crockett County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A native of Illinois, E. M. Powell was a surveyor and railroad engineer in Kentucky before moving to Texas in 1874. He worked as a surveyor during the railroad construction boom in Texas in the 1870s, taking parcels of land in payment for his services. By 1878 Powell and a partner, E. L. Gage, opened a real estate and land surveying company in Dallas. Powell soon began promoting his land holdings in West Texas and placed newspaper advertisements to encourage settlement in this area. To the first families who purchased homesteads out of his 185,000-acre tract of land in present Crockett County, he offered forty acres of free land as well as reduced prices for additional acreage. The city of Ozona was founded on Powell's property. He provided a public well and windmill, as well as lots for public buildings, churches, and a school. As a result of his settlement efforts, the county of Crockett was organized in 1891 with Ozona as the county seat. Married to the former Mary Almyra Durrell, Powell was the father of one son, Durrell, who died at age seven. Powell was a major contributor to the Dallas Congregational Church and to other charities. (1991)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Illinois native E. M. Powell came to Texas in 1874 and worked as a surveyor during the railroad boom, often taking land in payment and building up a 185,000-acre holding in present Crockett County. To draw settlers he advertised in newspapers and offered the first families forty acres of free land plus discounts on more. Ozona was founded on his property—complete with a public well, windmill, and lots for churches and a school—and his efforts led to Crockett County's organization in 1891 with Ozona as county seat.
Why it matters
Powell exemplifies the land promoters who turned West Texas rangeland into settled counties, using free-land offers and civic gifts to conjure towns out of the frontier.
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Related people
- · Ernest Malapert Powell
- · E. L. Gage
- · Mary Almyra Durrell
Themes & tags
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