Greer Spring is Missouri's second largest spring, with a daily
average flow of 220 million gallons. A maximum of 684
million has been recorded.
The spring flows 1 1/2 miles through a precipitous gorge to its
confluence with the Eleven Point river, falling 66 feet in this
distance. At this junction, Greer Spring is said to contibute
two-thirds of the volume of the Eleven Point River.
The spring took its name from Captain Samuel Greer, a
pioneer from Carolina, who in 1845 homesteaded small acre-
age near the spring branch. Ownership of the spring changed
several times. Louis E. Dennig acquired it in 1915 and it has
been maintained by the family ever since.
The spring branch is the heart of the 6940 Dennig acres,
largely in oak, other hardwoods, and pine forests, which
provide a part of the watershed so vital to the continuous
flow of the spring.
In 1932 the Springfield Court of Appeals held that Greer
Spring and Branch were private water and that trespassers
could be restrained and prosecuted. This decision was upheld
by the Supreme Court of Missouri.
Do not attempt to walk the half mile to the spring unless
you are in good health, as the return up the steep trail is
exceedingly taxing.
Louis S. Dennig, Owner
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