"[6] In the 1860s, a local resident, John Brown Sr., made improvements to the fresh cold water spring by building a wooden box containment structure around it to improve access to its flow.

It is named after the Box Springs cold freshwater and its associated seeps that feed an intermittent stream.

[13] Box Springs is mentioned in the introductory chapter "Evolution of the UC Natural Reserves" in the book, The Environmental Legacy of the University of California Natural Reserve System,[14] and in the book Fire in California's Ecosystems.

There are suggestions of grinding rocks (morteros or metates) in the area which would indicate past use by indigenous peoples.

The presence of the perennial cold springs at Box Springs Canyon encouraged use of the area during prehistoric times, as a cupule rock and 24 grinding rock stations have been found nearby.