The Four Mile Village community was founded in 1946 by John and Dorothy Coffeen. The Coffeens had purchased the property in the early 1940's but were delayed in occupying the site by World War II, when the U.S. Military (Army Air Force) requested use of the land for an "important military mission." The site had been previously logged for pine, and then much of it devastated by the military activity during 1944-45, which involved the testing of JB-2 missiles,the American version of German V-1 or "buzz bomb." When the Coffeens finally settled on the land in 1946, the old mess hall became the Coffeen home, and still remains today as the Preserve manager's residence. Scattered remnants of the military occupation remain today, including four bunkers, two missile ramps, and assorted concrete foundations and asphalt roads or runways.

The Coffeen Nature Preserve was created in 1976, when Dorothy Coffeen donated 197 acres of undeveloped land at Four Mile Village to the Sierra Club Foundation. The deed transferring the property to the Foundation states that the grant was made because of the "expressed intentions and promise to conserve and preserve the natural beauty and characteristics of the area called the Coffeen Nature Preserve for educational, conservation and scientific purposes limited by the size, sensitivity and character of the land conveyed". Additional land, including her residence,guest house (or Watson House, affectionately known as the "Castle"), and all unsold residential lots, was bequeathed at her death at the age of 80 onDecember 20, 1978, to make the total preserve property approximately 225 acres.

The Preserve property primarily occupies the northern two thirds of Four Mile Village (mostly north ofthe south edge of Lake Fuller), with the remaining one third being the residential sites (mostly between the south edge of the lake and the Gulf). The Preserve also includes some property south of the lake, including the crest of a high dune named Topsail Bluff, an interdune area, and an access area to the beach with a boardwalk across the dunes (referred to as "the gap").  Several hiking trails provideaccess to various parts of the Preserve,including the Sand Pine Military Trail for which a trail guide is available. A small wooden dock is located at the southwest side of Lake Fuller, which is restricted to non-motorized craft.

As Dorothy Coffeen described it, the Preserve is "A place of peace, a placeof quiet, and a refuge for all God's creatures."  Its solitude and peaceful setting contrast sharply with the hustle and bustle of tourist traffic and commercial development now impacting south Walton County. The Preserve is bordered by contrasting environments. To the south is the Gulf of Mexico (with about 2200 ft of beach frontage) and to the east the 1,640-acre Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, with natural communities similar to those of the Coffeen Preserve. The western border is defined by a sharp boundary with the urban landscape of the Tops'l Beach & Racquet Resort.