Pointe Mouillee provided a rich habitat for waterfowl and small game, drawing Late Woodland Indians to settle nearby because of its abundant wildlife resources. The earliest white settlers in the area were French fur traders seeking beaver pelts, and they named the marsh Pointe Mouillee, meaning wet point. In 1875, eight millionaire sportsmen organized the Big Eight Shooting Club, which was renamed the Pointe Mouillee Shooting Club in 1879. Over the years, the marsh gradually receded as Lake Erie's fluctuating waters eroded the protective barrier islands. In 1945, the Michigan Department of Conservation purchased the land with revenue from the federal Pittman-Robertson excise taxes and the state Game and Fish Protection Fund. During the 1980s, the department began a major wildlife habitat project to restore the Mouillee marshes.