Dexterville was founded in about 1848.[4] In 1850, the sawmilling magnate George Hiles moved to the area and set up a lumbermill in Dexterville. Dexter township may be named after Dexter, Michigan, the native home of a first settler, although folk etymology maintains the township is named after the mule of a local pioneer.[5] Hiles was granted a post office for Dexterville in 1858.[6] He created the Milwaukee, Dexterville, and Northern Railroad in 1887 to carry timber from the area.[7] The railroad was purchased by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad a few years later, and passed through the community in 1890.[8]
The Dexterville Dam is located on the southern edge of Lake Dexter; it dams the Yellow River, creating Dexter Lake. The dam was created by Wood County to provide waterfront for the current Dexter County Park.[9] A county worker died performing maintenance on the dam in 2009.[10]
