Powell Gardens

Powell Gardens’ history begins in 1948, when George E. Powell, Sr., a prominent Kansas City businessman, acquired the beautiful tract of land that is now Powell Gardens. He, along with his son George Powell Jr., and others, took over ownership of Yellow Transit Freight Lines in 1952. Throughout his successful business career, Mr. Powell and his family and friends enjoyed many weekends on his Johnson County, Missouri, farm. In 1969, in keeping with his stewardship philosophy, Mr. Powell donated the 640-acre farm to the Kansas City Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, who used it as a regional camp until 1984. In 1984, with the University of Missouri’s School of Agriculture as a partner, the Powell Family Foundation began developing a horticultural and natural resource facility called Powell Center. In 1988, official ties with the University of Missouri ended and Powell Gardens Inc., a not-for-profit organization, was established to serve as Kansas City’s botanical garden.