A sawmill was built here in 1852 by Luther Hanchett and Amos Courtwright. It was purchased in 1864 by Alexander and Thomas McDill, who later added a grist mill. After 1902 the site was occupied by Wisconsin Graphite Company, and from 1916 to 1951 by the John Strange Sulphite Mill. This vicinity, platted as McDill Village in 1873, was incorporated in 1947 and honored George A. Whiting, founder of Whiting-Plover Paper Company.