David W. Powers began freighting on the Smoky Hill Trail in the early 1860's, outfitting bull trains at Leavenworth for Denver, Colorado, and as far as Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1870 he established a bank in Salina, Kansas, with his nephews James W. and David B. Powers as partners. The booming cattle trade at Ellsworth drew him there in 1873, and Powers Bank specialized in providing capital for cattle drovers whose business dealings ranged all over the West. The Powers family also handled cattle extensively themselves, establishing the Bluff Creek Ranch near present-day Kanopolis Lake.