It serves as the capital of the Choctaw Nation, and is the largest settlement on the reservation, ranking ahead of McAlester and Poteau.

[5] The city was founded by Dixon Durant, a Choctaw who lived in the area,[6] after the MK&T railroad came through the Indian Territory in the early 1870s.

The Durant area was once claimed by both Spain and France before officially becoming part of the United States after the Louisiana Purchase and Adams–Onís Treaty.

[9] Pierre Durant and his four sons, all of French-Choctaw origin, made the journey up the Trail of Tears on the way to the southeastern part of the Choctaw Nation in 1832.

One son, Fisher, married to a full-blood Choctaw, found a beautiful location for a home between Durant's present Eighth and Ninth avenues.

At the time of Durant's founding it was located in Blue County, a part of the Pushmataha District of the Choctaw Nation.

A minister, businessman and civic leader, Dixon Durant is credited with pastorates in local Presbyterian, Congregational and Methodist churches.

[9] The Missouri-Kansas and Texas Railway (also known as the MKT or "Katy") had already laid a line through the area that would become Durant by November 1882.

The first post office, also named as Durant Station, Indian Territory, opened February 20, 1879, but closed on July 11, 1881.

Postal Service re-established the post office at the site as Durant on March 8, 1882, dropping the word "station" from the name.

[15][16] In 1904, Durant was named in a grand jury instruction as a sundown town where a notice had been posted warning African Americans not to stay after dark.

In 1908, a special election ratified this choice over three other candidates for the honor: Bokchito, Blue, and Sterrett (later renamed Calera).

Bryan was nominated three times for President of the United States and at the age of 36 lost to William McKinley.

He was subjected to a brutal act of mob violence, denial of judicial due process, and the desecration of his body posthumously.

The event is a reflection of the racial tensions and injustices prevalent in the United States during the early 20th century.

The book Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography in America by Twin Palms Publishers includes a photo from Durant on August 13, 1911, of a group of townspeople burning the body of an African American man named John Lee.

The author of Without Sanctuary summarizes that, "According to the August 14 issue of the Durant Daily Democrat, Lee died at 11:15 p.m. at the hands of a posse of 500.

The mob took John Lee's body to a vacant lot near the railroad tracks, where they built a pyre of gathered lumber and set the remains on fire.

[citation needed] One of the city's strongest industries is tourism; attractions include Lake Texoma, the Choctaw Casino Resort, and Fort Washita.

Chief Clark David Gardner established the Choctaw Nation administrative offices at the old Oklahoma Presbyterian College Building in 1975.

In 1976, in cooperation with the Durant Chamber of Commerce and the owners of the buildings, the Red River Valley Historical Association, title was transferred to the federal government.

This monument to the peanut growers in Bryan County is located on the front lawn of Durant's city hall.

It has made Durant and Southeastern Oklahoma State University a destination for tourists, professional and aspiring actors and theatre artisans.

Southeastern Oklahoma State University competes in NCAA Division II in the Great American Conference.

The city's ceremonial head is the mayor, who is a voting member of the council with limited administrative power.

The current interim city manager is Rick Rumsey, who replaced Lisa Taylor in a council vote.

After its at-grade intersection with Choctaw Road, it again upgrades to a freeway, passing through western and northern Durant, and again downgrades to a four-lane divided highway at the Bryan-Atoka County line.

At Washington Avenue it downgrades to a two-lane again while it travels through West End Heights, a historic and upscale neighborhood.

It comes to an intersection with East Main Street and turns westward toward downtown continuing its route.

[48] In a 2006 study by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, an average of about 19,100 vehicles pass Durant's Main Street on U.S. 69/75 every day.