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Benjamin Powell

Bruton Parish Church

Bruton Parish Church

  • Born 1730
  • Successful Williamsburg builder
  • Member of Williamsburg municipal government
  • Supported embargo of British goods
  • Died 1791

Benjamin Powell was a successful builder in colonial Williamsburg. As a general contractor (or "undertaker," in 18th-century terms), Powell worked on a number of public buildings in Williamsburg. He repaired the Public Gaol in 1764 and 1765, built the tower and steeple at Bruton Parish Church in 1769, and put up the Public Hospital between 1771 and 1773. He obtained the property now known as the Benjamin Powell House in 1763.

Powell also was a planter and a member of the Common Hall of Williamsburg, the city's municipal government. Along with Peyton Randolph, George Wythe, and other men of similar standing, Powell served on a committee that enforced an embargo of selected British goods in 1774.

Powell married Annabelle by 1750. They had two daughters, Hannah and Nancy.

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