Powell S. Barnett, musician, baseball player, and community leader, was born in Brazil, Indiana, on August 2, 1883, and moved to Roslyn, Washington, in 1889. His father, an ex-slave, was one of many black miners recruited to work in the coal mines of Washington state. As a teenager Powell also worked in the Roslyn coal mines and played in the "colored" band.
Powell Barnett came to Seattle in 1906. He worked for Barary Asphalt Paving Company as sub-foreman putting in new streetcar lines. Later he worked for the General Engineering Construction Company, which built the Waldorf Hotel at 7th Avenue and Pike Street and the Perry Hotel on 9th Avenue and Madison Street. He served as a clerk for State Senator Frank Connor and retired at 71 as a maintenance man at the King County Courthouse.
He organized the Leschi Improvement Council and became its first president in 1967, led in organizing the East Madison YMCA, served as chairman of its board, and chaired a committee that revised the Seattle Urban League, thus saving its membership in the Community Chest.
He was instrumental in uniting blacks and whites in the YMCA and the USO. He was a sousaphone player and the first black person to become a member of the once all-white Musicians Union, Local 76. He was a star baseball player and organized a semi-pro baseball Umpires Association in Seattle, serving as executive secretary from 1944 until 1961 and securing affiliation with the National Association of Umpires.
For his outstanding civic contributions, Powell Barnett received awards from the King County Council on Aging, Jackson Street Community Council, Seattle Urban League, the Mayor and City Council, and others.
In 1969, the 4.4-acre park on Martin Luther King Jr. Way between East Jefferson and East Alder Streets was named for Powell Barnett.
He married Katherine Veile Conna daughter of African American Pioneer John N. Conna and Mary Davis, Aug 23, 1906 in Seattle Washington. They had seven children together.
Powell Barnett died on March 16, 1971, having lived most of his life in the Leschi Community.
Powell Barnett came to Seattle in 1906. He worked for Barary Asphalt Paving Company as sub-foreman putting in new streetcar lines. Later he worked for the General Engineering Construction Company, which built the Waldorf Hotel at 7th Avenue and Pike Street and the Perry Hotel on 9th Avenue and Madison Street. He served as a clerk for State Senator Frank Connor and retired at 71 as a maintenance man at the King County Courthouse.
He organized the Leschi Improvement Council and became its first president in 1967, led in organizing the East Madison YMCA, served as chairman of its board, and chaired a committee that revised the Seattle Urban League, thus saving its membership in the Community Chest.
He was instrumental in uniting blacks and whites in the YMCA and the USO. He was a sousaphone player and the first black person to become a member of the once all-white Musicians Union, Local 76. He was a star baseball player and organized a semi-pro baseball Umpires Association in Seattle, serving as executive secretary from 1944 until 1961 and securing affiliation with the National Association of Umpires.
For his outstanding civic contributions, Powell Barnett received awards from the King County Council on Aging, Jackson Street Community Council, Seattle Urban League, the Mayor and City Council, and others.
In 1969, the 4.4-acre park on Martin Luther King Jr. Way between East Jefferson and East Alder Streets was named for Powell Barnett.
He married Katherine Veile Conna daughter of African American Pioneer John N. Conna and Mary Davis, Aug 23, 1906 in Seattle Washington. They had seven children together.
Powell Barnett died on March 16, 1971, having lived most of his life in the Leschi Community.
Powell S. Barnett, musician, baseball player, and community leader, was born in Brazil, Indiana, on August 2, 1883, and moved to Roslyn, Washington, in 1889. His father, an ex-slave, was one of many black miners recruited to work in the coal mines of Washington state. As a teenager Powell also worked in the Roslyn coal mines and played in the "colored" band.
Powell Barnett came to Seattle in 1906. He worked for Barary Asphalt Paving Company as sub-foreman putting in new streetcar lines. Later he worked for the General Engineering Construction Company, which built the Waldorf Hotel at 7th Avenue and Pike Street and the Perry Hotel on 9th Avenue and Madison Street. He served as a clerk for State Senator Frank Connor and retired at 71 as a maintenance man at the King County Courthouse.
He organized the Leschi Improvement Council and became its first president in 1967, led in organizing the East Madison YMCA, served as chairman of its board, and chaired a committee that revised the Seattle Urban League, thus saving its membership in the Community Chest.
He was instrumental in uniting blacks and whites in the YMCA and the USO. He was a sousaphone player and the first black person to become a member of the once all-white Musicians Union, Local 76. He was a star baseball player and organized a semi-pro baseball Umpires Association in Seattle, serving as executive secretary from 1944 until 1961 and securing affiliation with the National Association of Umpires.
For his outstanding civic contributions, Powell Barnett received awards from the King County Council on Aging, Jackson Street Community Council, Seattle Urban League, the Mayor and City Council, and others.
In 1969, the 4.4-acre park on Martin Luther King Jr. Way between East Jefferson and East Alder Streets was named for Powell Barnett.
He married Katherine Veile Conna daughter of African American Pioneer John N. Conna and Mary Davis, Aug 23, 1906 in Seattle Washington. They had seven children together.
Powell Barnett died on March 16, 1971, having lived most of his life in the Leschi Community.
Powell Barnett came to Seattle in 1906. He worked for Barary Asphalt Paving Company as sub-foreman putting in new streetcar lines. Later he worked for the General Engineering Construction Company, which built the Waldorf Hotel at 7th Avenue and Pike Street and the Perry Hotel on 9th Avenue and Madison Street. He served as a clerk for State Senator Frank Connor and retired at 71 as a maintenance man at the King County Courthouse.
He organized the Leschi Improvement Council and became its first president in 1967, led in organizing the East Madison YMCA, served as chairman of its board, and chaired a committee that revised the Seattle Urban League, thus saving its membership in the Community Chest.
He was instrumental in uniting blacks and whites in the YMCA and the USO. He was a sousaphone player and the first black person to become a member of the once all-white Musicians Union, Local 76. He was a star baseball player and organized a semi-pro baseball Umpires Association in Seattle, serving as executive secretary from 1944 until 1961 and securing affiliation with the National Association of Umpires.
For his outstanding civic contributions, Powell Barnett received awards from the King County Council on Aging, Jackson Street Community Council, Seattle Urban League, the Mayor and City Council, and others.
In 1969, the 4.4-acre park on Martin Luther King Jr. Way between East Jefferson and East Alder Streets was named for Powell Barnett.
He married Katherine Veile Conna daughter of African American Pioneer John N. Conna and Mary Davis, Aug 23, 1906 in Seattle Washington. They had seven children together.
Powell Barnett died on March 16, 1971, having lived most of his life in the Leschi Community.
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