[5] It was named after Gen. David White, the township's first supervisor and a pioneer settler.

However, by December 1836, the boundary dispute between Ohio and Michigan had been settled, the Toledo Strip was awarded to Ohio, and Whiteford Township subsequently lost all of its territory south of this newly agreed upon state boundary.

Throughout the mid and late 19th century, most of the land in the township was used agriculturally, with many of the square-mile sections divided up into parcels of 40 to 160 acres (16 to 65 ha).

Merchants and manufacturers could be found in the unincorporated settlements of Whiteford Center and Ottawa Lake, the latter being home to a large stave mill in which residents were employed during the 1870s and 1880s.

In 1880, the total population of the township was 2,044, of which 2,030 residents were classified as White and 14 were listed as Black/Mulatto.

[7] Whiteford Township occupies the southwest corner of Monroe County.