Brice and Orogrande, New Mexico

"Ole Perk" S. M. Perkins, wandering the Jarilla Mountains west of present-day Orogrande, was captured by Mescalero Apaches--but when the Apaches noticed Ole Perk was deformed, they released him and he continued on seeking riches. Near the turn of the century, he found mineral deposits that resulted in a rush to the area. His property later became known as the Mannie (or Nannie) Baird mine and it also became the site of Brice, New Mexico.

Then George E. Moffett, around 1905, discovered a gold nugget "as large as a man's finger", and so the town east of Brice came to be called Oro grande (big gold) instead of Jarilla Junction.

The first school house in the area was built in Brice in 1905. Children from Orogrande were taken to school in Brice until 1918.