J.W. POWELL SCHOOL In 1959 the children who had been attending the Patton School were moved to the new J.W. Powell School in the Edgemont area of town. It was named for Josiah Whitaker Powell, native of Lowndesboro, Alabama, which served as Florence Superintendent of Education from Dec. 1932 until he retired in June 1958. Excerpt of "A Walk Through The Past"