The first settlers in the area were Swedish, who arrived in 1915 and took up homesteads. A ferry operated on the Saskatchewan River near what would become White Fox. Population in the area began to grow after WWI when some former soldiers took up land grants offered to returning veterans in the area. However, because there was no railway line nearer than Tisdale, population growth and further development were slow. A railway branch line did not reach the White Fox area until 1929-30.
Located on the northern edge of agricultural settlement in Saskatchewan, the local economy also depends in part on recreation, including camping and fishing in the area, and travellers using the highway between Prince Albert and Nipawin.