Sheriff Harvey S. Powell

HARVEY S. POWELL
1886 - 1972

Harvey S. Powell was born in Baxter County on January 4, 1886. His parents, James E. Powell and Susan Edney Powell, moved from Alabama to Baxter County after the Civil War. They arrived in a large wagon train composed of many families who were to become important members of Baxter County citizenry. His grandfather, Bryant Powell, operated a hotel and store in Mountain Home and carried the mail from Mountain Home to West Plains. About 1902, Bryant and his wife, Louizella (Dilbeck) moved to Oklahoma.

James E. Powell, the son of Bryant and Louizella, homesteaded at Promise Land Ridge. He was married to Susan Elizabeth Edney of the Wesley Chapel community. The company settled in Monkey Run, and James had a large mercantile business at Independence. Their son, Harvey, married Martha Adaline White of Whiteville on October 26, 1913, and they were the parents of three daughters: Ruth, Nathalee, and Nell. Besides farming at Whiteville, Harvey had a mercantile at Gassville. Martha Powell died in 1970.

When his daughters completed school at Gassville, Harvey moved to Mountain Home and opened a store there.

Harvey Powell served as Sheriff of Baxter County from 1941 to 1945. He was a lifetime resident of Baxter County. In addition to being Sheriff, he was also a farmer and livestock dealer. He was a Baptist and a Mason. Harvey Powell died in 1972 and is buried in the Pilgrim's Rest Cemetery.