In June 1847, Powers and his family, then consisting of his wife and one child, William Henry, came to Grand Rapids following after "uncle" John Ball.
His chief business capital at the time was a good trade, about $300, in cash, a pair of willing hands and a spirit of energy and determination.
Here he began work in a small shop at the southeast corner of Fountain and Ionia streets, where he rented bench room.
In 1852 they built a sawmill to which they added a larger structure for a factory, on Erie Street, where the business grew rapidly; soon giving work to some forty employees, and establishing an export trade in ready made stock for chairs, furniture and McCormick reapers.
Powers turned his attention to lumbering, operating a steam mill with a circular saw, the first of its kind in this part of the state, which the firm had built above Leonard Street on the west bank of the river.
He added furniture making to his business, and for a time before the Civil War had an extensive sales room on Canal Street, near Erie.
In 1865 and 1866 he purchased the river frontage necessary and in the three following years constructed the West Side Water Power Canal, a description of which is given in Baxter's History of Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Notable in his work, also, is the Arcade artesian well, where so many thousands daily partake of its refreshing waters, free — a public benefaction.
While in Spearfish he had a saw mill, furniture factory, door and sash company, plaster mine, and mercantile store.
In 1857, he was elected Mayor and served one term, during which he started and gave a lasting impetus to the system of street improvements that has been so prominent a factor in city development and progress.