The creek which winds its way through the preserve was named after Oshea Wilder of Eckford. After careful survey of the now Calhoun County in the early 1830s, this is where he came to live on the stream in 1831. Oshea Wilder helped the Ketchum brothers found the City of Marshall when they arrived to the area from New York in 1831. Oshea Wilder served the City of Marshall in many capacities over the first decades of its founding.
The conservation club was originally created to form a cooperative between farmers and hunters. Through the years the beauty of Wilder Creek has served the community in all seasons...to educate youth, sportsman, and community about conservation and wildlife.
By 1936, little remained but a few bare timbers of the Wilder Creek Mill which once flourished for over fifty years. In that same year, local conservationists and sportsman banded together to develop a blue gill rookery at the same site. These fish stocked the lakes of Calhoun county. Over the years, this same rookery has been leased by the DNR to stock lakes and streams in Michigan.
During the late thirties under the Franklin Roosevelt WPA work program the Wilder Creek Castle was originally constructed. The one hundred ton castle was built by James Brown of Lyon Lake. The structure along with improvements to the dam for use with the rookery pond was given to the conservation club. The structure was first occupied by fish biologist, Floyd Simmons and his wife.
Wilder Creek over the decades has hosted local, state and national events. Wilder Creek remains one of the most beautiful member owned conservation clubs in Michigan.