John E. Rice and his wife Jane Martin moved from Muhlenberg Co. to Hopkins County in about 1834, settling on land purchased from Charles Hereford near White Plains. John E. Rice descended from Revolutionary War blacksmith and gunsmith William Rice, who migrated to KY from Prince Edward County, VA. Jane Martin was the eldest daughter of Hutson Martin and Anna Lockridge of Muhlenberg Co. The homestead remained in the Rice family until about 1895, when son Felix W. Rice sold it.