August Harder is the primogenitor of the Harder family in Arkansas. He came as a child of five to the Sugarloaf valley in southern Sebastian County with his uncle and aunts. Forced by the depredations of marauders in the Civil War to move into Fort Smith, he married, had a family, and remained there the rest of his life. Around 1899 August began a family history and continued it until the last entry three months before his death in 1920. It is his history that forms the basis of this present work.

The author places August and Louise and their family into the milieu of nineteenth century western Arkansas. He provides a synopsis of August's ancestors and shows how his family and descendants have flourished from pioneer days to present times.

Influx into the Choctaw Nation in the late nineteenth century included the development of a town that began when a wheel-less boxcar was left beside the KATY railroad tracks. That town is Durant. The Catholic Church received a visible, permanent status in Durant with the establishment of Saint Catherine's Mission. The mission became a parish in 1912 with the assignment of a resident pastor. By the middle of the twentieth century, new facilities were necessary and, when a new church was built, the name of the parish was changed to Saint William. The author sketches the history of Saint Catherine's and Saint William's from its beginnings to the present day, which is the centennial of the congregation's status as a parish. Not only are the clergy and religious who served the people featured, issues faced over the years are detailed. Also, a few of those laypersons whose support escapes the anonymity normally afforded the congregants are mentioned.

Influx into the Choctaw Nation in the late nineteenth century included the development of a town that began when a wheel-less boxcar was left beside the KATY railroad tracks. That town is Durant. The Catholic Church received a visible, permanent status in Durant with the establishment of Saint Catherine's Mission. The mission became a parish in 1912 with the assignment of a resident pastor. By the middle of the twentieth century, new facilities were necessary and, when a new church was built, the name of the parish was changed to Saint William. The author sketches the history of Saint Catherine's and Saint William's from its beginnings to the present day, which is the centennial of the congregation's status as a parish. Not only are the clergy and religious who served the people featured, issues faced over the years are detailed. Also, a few of those laypersons whose support escapes the anonymity normally afforded the congregants are mentioned.

August Harder is the primogenitor of the Harder family in Arkansas. He came as a child of five to the Sugarloaf valley in southern Sebastian County with his uncle and aunts. Forced by the depredations of marauders in the Civil War to move into Fort Smith, he married, had a family, and remained there the rest of his life. Around 1899 August began a family history and continued it until the last entry three months before his death in 1920. It is his history that forms the basis of this present work.

The author places August and Louise and their family into the milieu of nineteenth century western Arkansas. He provides a synopsis of August's ancestors and shows how his family and descendants have flourished from pioneer days to present times.