Powell's Creek is a tributary of the James River on the south side of the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

Prince George County, Virginia Prince George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George. Prince George County is located within the Greater Richmond Region of the U.S. sta ...

, United States. The creek borders James River National Wildlife Refuge near

Garysville, Virginia Garysville is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Prince George County, Virginia, Prince George County, Virginia, United States. It is located on State Route 10 (Virginia), State Route 10, approximately 12 miles east of Petersburg ...

History

In 1730, a tobacco inspection site was located here. According to the

Tobacco Inspection Act The Tobacco Inspection Act of 1730 (popularly known as the Tobacco Inspection Act) was a 1730 law of the Virginia General Assembly designed to improve the quality of tobacco exported from Colonial Virginia. Proposed by Virginia Lieutenant Gover ...

, the inspection was "In Prince George; at Appamatox Point, upon Col. Bolling's land; on Col. Robert Mumford's land; and Powel's Creek; upon Mr. Bland's land, under one inspection." Powells creek historical marker K212 R0010391

Powells creek historical marker K212 R0010391

According to a State of Virginia historical marker, "The creek ... was named for

Nathaniel Powell Nathaniel Powell (1587 March 22, 1622) was an English-born early American colonist, cartographer, military leader, and politician who served briefly as the acting governor of the colony of Virginia for a ten-day period in 1619. Powell's additional ...

, acting governor in 1619. Weyanoke Indian town was here. Nearby was the site of an old mill, known in the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

as Bland's, and later, Cocke's Mill. The British General Phillips passed in May 1781.

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

's army, after crossing the James, turned towards Petersburg, June, 1864."Powell's Creek Marker, K-212
. ''Markerhistory.com''. Retrieved October 7, 2015.

References

Rivers of Virginia Bland family (Virginia) Tributaries of the James River Rivers of Prince George County, Virginia {{Virginia-river-stub