The Marlette District Library

In 1914 the Marlette Research Club, composed of women in the community, decided to build a public library for Marlette. The club contacted the Carnegie Corporation for a grant to build the library. In compliance with the Carnegie Corporation’s rules, Marlette raised funds and instituted a quarter-mil tax for maintenance of the library. In 1918 the Carnegie Corporation agreed to fund the Research Club’s library project. The simple brick building was constructed in 1921. The building has a hipped roof and a portico of classical design. The library was the last in the Midwest to receive a Carnegie library grant and the second to the last to do so in the country. The Marlette District Library is one of fifty-three Michigan libraries funded by the Carnegie Corporation.