Whistler was an unincorporated community in Mobile County, until the 1950s when it was annexed into neighboring Prichard.

The M & O, an early land grant railroad, eventually extended from Mobile to the Ohio River, and beyond to St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois.

Eight Mile Creek flows along much of the northern side of Whistler, before joining Chickasabogue, a tributary of the Mobile River.

During Whistler's heyday, both creeks provided popular swimming holes for cooling off during hot summer months.

The annexation of Whistler and neighboring Eight Mile resulted in the highest census population ever for Prichard: 47,371.