Sometime after graduation Powel made a six-year tour of Europe with his friend John Morgan, where they spent much of their time studying art treasures.

A regular feature of aristocratic education, it served as a means of gaining both exposure and association with the sophistication of Europe.

[3] Powel was an early member of the American Philosophical Society and a trustee of the College of Philadelphia (now the University of Pennsylvania).

A Georgian city house built by Charles Stedman in 1765, Powel expanded and embellished it around 1770, with carved woodwork and ornate plaster ceilings.

George and Martha Washington were friends of the Powels, and lived next door from November 1781 to March 1782, following the Battle of Yorktown.