Mayor mixes up city's namesake

Almost exactly two years ago, the city of Powell hosted a Founder's Day Celebration to recognize the city's founding. It may be time for a refresher: in a message posted on the city website, Powell Mayor Scott Mangold mistakenly identified the city's namesake as "William Powell" instead of American West explorer (and actual namesake) John Wesley Powell.

The original version

In his monthly message posted on the city website Wednesday night, Mangold outlined some of the problems the oodles of rain have caused, such as delaying landscaping at Homesteader Park and planned street work. But in closing, Mangold noted Powell is also better off than other places in the state.

"It’s going to be a bad spring for many towns in Wyoming for flooding and they’re going to need some help," Mangold wrote. "So let’s all curse the weather under our breath but thank William Powell for planning a town far enough away from the river."

Tessa, the Tribune's managing editor, caught the unfamiliar name and we knew the Tribune had to investigate.

When I asked Mangold on Thursday afternoon who Powell was named after, he didn't hesitate:

"William Powell."

But when I then asked if it wasn't actually John Wesley Powell, the mayor readily agreed he was in error.

"Oh yeah, John Wesley Powell," he said.

I then, to Mangold's chagrin, pointed out that his column had attributed Powell's origins to William, not John W.

"I'm going to change it real quick," Mangold said. He did note there actually is a famous William Powell (in fact, many). The best known William Powell was an acclaimed actor who starred in many films between the late 1920's and mid-1950's.

In less than 10 minutes, the mayor had corrected his message to say residents should instead thank "John Wesley Powell for planning a town far enough away from the river."

Of course, as the city's website notes, John Wesley Powell never actually came here to plan out the town or do anything else, but that's another matter altogether.