But the account that maintained his birthplace as a museum will soon run dry. The fate of the home in Vienna, a town of 1,300 about 140 miles (230 kilometers) southeast of St. Louis, is uncertain, but it likely will be sold. For decades it has been home, according to Powell's wishes, to the Johnson County Genealogical and Historical Society, which has the home looking as it did during the political giant's time in office, with memorabilia cluttering the walls. The upkeep runs about $5,000 annually, while last year the society's income was $4,300, said board member Gary Hacker, 85, whose parents were schoolmates of Powell and mowed his lawn as a teenager in the early 1950s. "We're probably going to be putting it on the market for sale," Hacker said. "The historical society will relocate."
Southern Illinois was Powell's fiefdom for much of the mid-1900s. He brought jobs by expanding the state's prison infrastructure to the region, pumped money and status into Southern Illinois University and promoted county fairs and pari-mutuel betting on horse racing, which served the dual purpose of enriching Powell, who held racetrack stock. While in later years Powell spent more time in Springfield and Chicago, when he was at home, favor-seekers streamed to the house. Sunday afternoons were spent in the sunroom he added in the 1950s, where three televisions were tuned to separate networks carrying sports, Hacker said.