Alexander Stuart McDill

Alexander Stuart McDill (March 18, 1822 – November 12, 1875) was an American medical doctor, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer who played a notable role in the development of Wisconsin’s medical and political institutions in the mid-nineteenth century. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives, representing northern Wisconsin, and also served three years in the Wisconsin Legislature. As Superintendent of the State Hospital for the Insane, he implemented important reforms in the state hospital system, helping to shape the state’s approach to public health and charitable institutions during a formative period.

McDill was born on March 18, 1822, near Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, the eighth of nine children of Irish American immigrants James and Mary (née Brawley) McDill. His father, James McDill, had served in the Pennsylvania Militia during the War of 1812, and the family’s background reflected both recent immigration and early American military service. Growing up in a large family on the Pennsylvania frontier, Alexander McDill was part of a household that would produce several figures active in public life, including his elder brother Thomas McDill, who would later become a prominent Wisconsin pioneer and politician.

McDill pursued higher education in Pennsylvania and Ohio. He attended Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and then undertook medical studies at Cleveland Medical College, from which he graduated in 1848. Following his graduation, he returned to Crawford County, Pennsylvania, where he established a medical practice and worked as a physician for approximately eight years. On July 31, 1849, he married Eliza Jane Rich of Woolrich, Pennsylvania. The couple had two children: a daughter, Narcissa McDill, who later married Dr. William Fox of Fitchburg, Wisconsin, and a son, John Rich McDill, who became a prominent medical doctor, served as a major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, saw service in the Philippines, and later managed a veterans hospital in Waukesha, Wisconsin; he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

In 1856, at the urging of his brother Thomas, who had become well established in the new state of Wisconsin, Alexander McDill moved west to Plover, in Portage County, Wisconsin. He quickly established himself as a leading physician in central Wisconsin and settled in the nearby village of McDill, which was named for his brother Thomas. In addition to his medical practice, he became involved in pioneer mercantile and industrial enterprises, partnering with his brother in a general store, sawmill, and lumber business. These activities placed him at the center of the economic and social development of the Plover and Stevens Point area during a period of rapid settlement and growth.

McDill entered politics as a member of the Republican Party during the American Civil War. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1861 and, the following year, was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate, serving in the state legislature for a total of three years. In 1864, he was chosen as a presidential elector for Abraham Lincoln’s re-election, reflecting his standing within the Republican Party and his support for the Union war effort. While serving in the Legislature, he was appointed to the commission for the State Hospital for the Insane near Madison, a role in which he became intensely involved and which would define much of his later public career.

In 1868, McDill was named superintendent of the State Hospital for the Insane. In that capacity, he instituted reforms aimed at ending abusive treatment of patients and improving the overall management of the institution. He worked in coordination with the state courts to protect patients’ rights and advocated before the Wisconsin Legislature to transform the existing State Board of Charities—then focused primarily on financial oversight—into the State Board of Charities and Reform. Under this new structure, the board was charged not only with managing fiscal concerns but also with ensuring that state hospitals and related institutions were properly administered. McDill’s efforts contributed significantly to the professionalization and humanitarian orientation of Wisconsin’s public hospital system.

In 1872, McDill was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin’s newly created 8th congressional district, which at that time comprised nearly all of the northern half of the state. He served in the Forty-third Congress from March 4, 1873, to March 3, 1875. As a Republican representing Wisconsin, he participated in the legislative process during a significant period in American history, in the post–Civil War and Reconstruction era, representing the interests of his largely rural and developing district and contributing to the broader democratic process. In the 1874 election, he sought re-election but was narrowly defeated by Democrat George W. Cate by a margin of just two votes. McDill initially announced his intention to contest the election results but ultimately withdrew his challenge and retired from electoral politics.

After leaving Congress and returning from Washington, D.C., McDill was reappointed superintendent of the State Hospital for the Insane, resuming his work in institutional reform and administration. His renewed tenure, however, was brief. On November 12, 1875, only a few months after his return to the position, he died of pneumonia near Madison, Wisconsin. He was interred at Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison, a historic burial ground for many of the state’s leading figures.

McDill’s family remained influential in Wisconsin public life. His brother, Thomas McDill, served as a quartermaster for the Union Army during the Civil War and later held four terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly. His nephew, George Davis McDill, served in the famed Iron Brigade of the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War and subsequently served three terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly. In the Plover and Stevens Point area, McDill’s legacy is commemorated by local landmarks bearing his name, including McDill Pond, McDill Elementary School, and a section of the Green Circle bike and walking trail, among other dedications that honor his role as a physician, legislator, and pioneer in Wisconsin’s early development.