Roaring River State Park, nestled among the hills of southern
Barry County near Cassville, draws visitors from across Missouri
and neighboring states. Although the 4,093-acre park offers
camping and hiking opportunities, its main appeal is trout
fishing. Roaring River Hatchery, which is operated by the
Missouri Department of Conservation, produces more than 250,000
rainbow and brown trout each year. Most of those fish end up in
the upper 1.7 miles of Roaring River that is within the park
boundaries. The stream originates at Roaring River Spring—one of
the park’s many scenic features. The 20 million gallons of cool
water that flow from the spring daily make trout rearing and
trout fishing possible at the park. A Natural Choice The
spring—and the cool water that gushes from it—prompted Roland
Edward Bruner to construct the first trout hatchery at the site
in 1910. Bruner was born in 1860 in Pennsylvania and later moved
to Wellsville, Kansas, where he married Hannah McLain in 1883.
Among his many careers, he was