Dr. Thomas William Hardison, physician for the Fort Smith Lumber Co., had a dream. He thought company holdings on Petit Jean Mountain should be a national park.
The only sound is the wind rustling the tall pine trees as Judge Billy Roy Wilson and I walk through what s left of Forester, a once-bustling sawmill town in Scott County owned by Caddo River Lumber Co. Forester was founded by Thomas Whitaker Rosborough in 1930.
Miller Williams and Willard Gatewood had a plan in 1980. They decided the University of Arkansas needed an additional outlet for scholars to have their work published. They also believed there was a dearth of opportunities for Arkansas writers to get published, not to mention a lack of focus on the state s history and culture.