There is evidence that man has settled in the area since the Neolithic period although the exact date of the origin of the municipality is not known.

The German derivative of the local name is White Fjord, which suggests that it is taken from the Neumühler See and its sinuous form.

The local industry was primarily agriculture and forestry, and after the Thirty-Year War, peat-extraction.

After the reunification of Germany, the population of Wittenförden has occasionally almost tripled due primarily to the migration of people from urban areas.

Wittenförden has a bus service as part of the Schwerin transport network.