The great spring that significantly increases the flow of the Niangua River attracted homesteaders in the 1830s.
James and Ann Brice arrived from Illinois and purchased 400 acres, and in 1837 constructed a watermill. Other pioneers settled nearby, and a community called Brice was created.
Another millwright, Peter Bennet, built a competing mill at the confluence of the spring branch and the Niangua. Somehow, Bennet’s name became attached to the spring which was then called Brice.
