Dr. and Mrs. Cooper purchased the land in the Cooper Woodland and the Cooper Natural Area  in 1951 as a part of their 123.3 acre farm.  This area was grazed by swine and cattle prior to1951.  An SCS-engineered fescue grass waterway was completed in October 1958 to drain a wet area of approximately 1.5 acres that is on the Cooper Farm just south of the Cooper Area. Beginning in 1959, the Cooper Area was placed in the USDA soil reserve (soil bank) for five years.   Wildlife plantings in the un-wooded portions were made by various BSU classes in the early 1970s. In 1993, trail clearing in the wooded section was ended and pathway mowing in the open area was greatly reduced in an effort to allow more of the habitat to undergo succession.