[3] The land was shaped by the glaciers in the Wisconsin Glaciation about 18,000 years ago, forming a depressed wetland area and a partially wooded natural dam.

In the 19th century, most of the land was owned by the Wright and Bowen families whose names mark the crossroads in the park.

[5] Beginning in 1974, citizens and conservationists began working on raising the money needed to buy the land and take them into public ownership.

An engineering study was commissioned to understand how the wetlands would be affected by storm water runoff from the proposed development.

The report concluded that runoff could pollute the wetlands and contaminate municipal water supplies leading to an increase in land holdings to protect the watershed.