| Monmouth's
Famous Son: General Herbert Butler Powell |
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An exhibit honoring Monmouth’s most famous son, General Herbert Butler Powell (1903-1998), was placed in the lobby of the Wayne and Lynn Hamersly Library throughout the month of October. Powell’s distinguished U.S. Army career spanned more than four decades and several wars. During the Korean Conflict, Powell commanded the only U.S. regiment to reach the Yalu River. He was a four-star general commanding all troops within the continental United States during the Cuban Missile Crisis. When Powell retired, a grateful President Kennedy appointed him Ambassador to New Zealand (1963-1967). Powell Later retired to the South and became involved in the effort to preserve the Sea Islands of Georgia from development. |
Powell, the descendant of two local pioneer families, never returned to live in Monmouth after he left for college at the University of Oregon. But he kept in close touch with his family in Polk County. He always intended to write a history of Monmouth and corresponded at length with his sister-in-law, local historian Iris Powell, about this project. After the General’s death, these letters and much else reflecting his career and family were donated to the Monmouth Public Library by his widow, Mrs. Grace Tuggle Powell of Williamsburg, Virginia.
William Bragg, a student intern from the History Department at Western Oregon University, is the curator of the Powell exhibit.
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