William Henry Harris (Will)

Custer, SD

1939, 762, Custer, F-12 (Doran), foreman

William Henry "Will" Harris was one of ten children born to Richard Harris and Elizabeth Bennett, who came from Cornwall, England in 1885-1886 to South Dakota. Will's father worked in the Homestake Mine and was one of the men who sank the Allison shaft. The family later moved west of Custer where Richard was superintendent of the New York Mine.

Will attended schools in the Custer area and began his lifelong work as a carpenter by first learning the trade of a cooper making barrels for the New York mica mine.

Will and May were married on August 10, 1916 in Custer, South Dakota. They had four children, but two, a son and a daughter, died shortly after their births.

Will worked as a carpenter in the Custer area and he was a Forest Service Supervisor for the CCC program. In 1940 they moved to Tacoma, Washington (Manitou), where he worked as a shipwright at the Todd Shipyards and for contractors in the area until his retirement.

Bertha died on April 17, 1980. Two years later Will moved to Dickinson, North Dakota where he resided until he moved to Good Samaritan Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in September 1989.

Although he was blind in his later years, he had an accurate memory and was able to describe Calamity Jane and other colorful friends of his family, as well as keeping photographs and lists of names of the early day miners in both the Northern and Southern Hills.

He died at Good Samaritan, with services held at Piper Funeral Home in Tacoma, Washington and burial following in Calvary Cemetery. At the time of his death he was survived by two sons, 10 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren.

Do you have additional information about William Harris

We would like to included it. Please write or email us at History "at" SouthDakotaCCC "dot" org.