The Powell Bank
The Powell Bank operated from 1880 until 1914 at 16 West Olentangy Street in the small white building that is now a dog grooming business. It is said that the east side of the building was left open until the two-ton bank vault was delivered. Urban legend has it that vault was pulled up Powell Hill by horses. A photo from the Delaware Gazette in 1976 shows that the vault was still in the building when it became a shop called Powell Poruri. After the bank closed in 1914 the building housed a barber shop, a print and confectionary store in 1920, and the Post Office from 1925 until 1973.
The Powell Liberty Historical Society has several Powell Bank notes, checks and deposit sheets in our collection. We have a record of the bank officers in 1909: Charles Talley, President; H. E. Sharp, Vice President, and Bond Neff, Teller. In 2022 a teller window with frosted glass and metal trim, plus wooden panels and marble pieces were donated to the Society by Laurie Dunnavant, granddaughter of the Reikes, the last owners of the former hardware store at the Four Corners. The Society has plans to showcase the bank donations in the renovated coal shed on the east side of the Martin-Perry House.
