Powell, Arizona facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Powell, Arizona
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 Powell, Arizona
Location in Arizona
Powell, Arizona
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Arizona |
| County | Mohave |
| Founded | 1883 |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (MST (no DST)) |
Powell was a small railroad station and a settlement in Mohave County, Arizona. It existed for a short time, from 1883 to 1890. Today, Powell is known as a ghost town, which means it's a place where people once lived and worked, but now it's mostly empty or abandoned.
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The Story of Powell: A Railroad Stop
Powell was an important stop on the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. This railroad was a big deal because it helped connect different parts of the United States. Powell was located where the railroad started to cross the lower Mohave Valley. Its goal was to reach the Colorado River bridge at a place called Eastbridge, Arizona, which was southeast of Needles, California.
Powell's Post Office
Powell even had its own post office! It opened on October 11, 1883. This was a sign that the town was growing and had enough people to need mail services. However, the post office didn't last very long. It closed on July 9, 1886. The mail services were then moved to Mohave City, another nearby town.
Trouble with the Bridge
The railroad bridge across the Colorado River at Eastbridge was built in 1883. But building bridges over powerful rivers like the Colorado River was very difficult back then. The bridge faced a lot of problems.
- In 1884, just a year after it was built, the bridge was damaged by spring floods.
- The same thing happened again in 1886.
- And once more in 1888, the river's strong floods washed out or weakened the bridge.
Because of these repeated problems, the railroad company decided they needed a new plan.
A New Route and the End of Powell
The railroad decided to change its route. Instead of going through Powell and Eastbridge, they moved the tracks southward. The new route went from Beal to Mellen.
Between 1889 and May 1890, a new and stronger bridge was built at Mellen. This bridge was called the Red Rock Bridge. It was a special type of bridge called a cantilever bridge. Unlike the old bridge, the Red Rock Bridge was built on solid rock foundations, which made it much stronger against the river's floods.
Once the new bridge and route were ready, the old section of track that went through Powell and to the Eastbridge station was no longer needed. It was abandoned in 1890. Without the railroad, which was its main reason for existing, Powell quickly became a ghost town.
Where is Powell Today?
Today, you can't visit Powell as a town. The area where Powell once stood is now covered by water. It lies beneath the waters of Goose Lake, which is part of the Topock Marsh. If you look closely near the marsh, you might still see a small part of the old railroad bed disappearing into the water. This is a small reminder of where Powell used to be.
