In 1837, the James Brice family built a mill at the stream and the spring became known as Brice Spring. The town that built up was known as Brice. The family of Peter Bennett soon settled near the spring and started their own mill. Originally, the families were rivals, but they soon intermarried. Both of these mills were eventually destroyed in a flood. During the Civil War years, another mill was constructed by Peter Bennett. This Bennett Mill was larger and more successful than the Brice mill. The spring soon took on the Bennett name. Peter died in 1882 and his son William Sherman Bennett took over. The Bennett Mill burned in 1895. The state purchased the spring and some surrounding area in 1924-1925 to create a state park. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps made various improvements to the park. The CCC built the dining lodge, cabins, trails, roads, shelters, gauge station, and the arched stone bridge across the spring branch. The bridge has 3 distinctive sideways “C’s” to memorialize the men of the CCC who built it. The CCC also channelized the spring branch and constructed the dam just upstream of the stone bridge to make the spring more habitable to the non-native trout. The dam is used to divert water through the fish hatchery and to maintain a constant water level at Bennett Spring to this day.
Bennett Spring State Park Hatchery-Lodge Area Historic District: The district encompasses six contributing buildings and two contributing structures erected by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1933 and 1938. They include two concrete and stone arch bridges, barn, storage building, custodian's residence, Old Officers Quarters, restroom, and dining lodge.
Bennett Spring State Park Shelter House and Water Gauge Station: The picnic shelter is of wood and random ashlar stone construction with an enclosed alcove that houses a stone fireplace. The water gauge station is a small two-story tower of random cut stone construction with a pyramidal roof and round-arched window openings. It measures 26 feet by 26 feet and has a pitched cross-gabled roof.
Activities and amenities
The park offers trout fishing for rainbow and brown trout in the natural spring that is the namesake of the park. The fishing area is divided into three zones, each with its own set of regulations. During the regular season, fish may be caught and kept. Catch and release regulations are in effect during the winter months. Daily fishing begins and ends with a whistle or siren. The opening march of the angler can sometimes resemble a Civil War–style battle line as the anglers progress into the water with rod in hand. The park also offers of hiking trails, canoeing on the Niangua River, camping, cabins, swimming pool, nature center, dining lodge, and park store.
