Oliver Samuel Powell (June 19, 1830 – September 26, 1888) was an American farmer, miller and merchant from River Falls, Wisconsin who spent three consecutive one-year terms as a state legislator.

Background

He was born June 19, 1830, in

Madrid, New York Madrid ( ) is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York. The population was 1,735 at the time of the 2010 census. The town is named after the capital of Spain. Madrid is in the northern part of the county, north of Canton. Madrid-Waddington Ce ...

, and moved to Augusta, Illinois in 1843. He received a

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

education, and became a farmer. In 1849, he came to Stillwater, Minnesota with what was supposedly the first threshing machine north of Prairie du Chien, and threshed the first grain of that fall season. He came to Wisconsin in 1849, joining his father William and his brothers Nathaniel and Lyman. The brothers claimed adjacent lands, and in 1852 built a sawmill and the first

frame building Framing, in construction, is the fitting together of pieces to give a structure support and shape. Framing materials are usually wood, engineered wood, or structural steel. The alternative to framed construction is generally called ''mass wall ...

in the area, which was first used as a home, then became a general store known as the "Old Pioneer Store" at the corner of Main and Maple. In 1854 the brothers platted a village first known as Kinnickinnic and sometimes as Greenwood, before finally settling on the name "River Falls" after the falls of the Kinnickinnic River on whose banks it was built. On September 23, 1860, Powell married L(ydia) Elmira Nichols, a native of

Braintree, Vermont Braintree is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States created by Vermont charter on August 1, 1781. The population was 1,207 at the 2020 census. Braintree includes the places Braintree Center, Braintree Hill, East Braintree, West Brain ...

. They would have four sons and three daughters. In 1862, Nathaniel died, and Oliver Powell had to take over the store and other family business.

Public office

He was first elected to the Assembly in 1869 as a Republican without opposition, and was assigned to the standing committee on railroads. He was re-elected in 1870, with 902 votes to 413 for

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Joel Foster Joel Foster was an American pioneer farmer, judge and local politician in River Falls, Wisconsin. Background Foster was born the youngest of eleven at Meriden, Connecticut, December 15, 1814. He was liberally educated. He came to Alton, Il ...

(who had been the first white settler in what was now Pierce County); and was assigned to the committees on

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s and elections; and on

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s and overflowed lands. He was re-elected again in 1871, receiving 1,133 votes against 609 for Thomas Carney, one of five "people's candidates" running in that election, and was assigned to the committee on ways and means. During his time in the Assembly, he worked with other local figures to achieve the 1874 creation of a new state normal school in River Falls, the nucleus of what would become the University of Wisconsin–River Falls.

After the Assembly

Powell died in his cane mill on September 26, 1888.Easton, p. 620

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Oliver S. People from Madrid, New York 1830 births 1888 deaths People from River Falls, Wisconsin Farmers from Wisconsin Millers Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Businesspeople from Wisconsin American merchants 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American legislators 19th-century Wisconsin politicians