In 1914 the Marlette Research Club, composed of women in the community, decided to build a public library for Marlette and contacted the Carnegie Corporation for a grant. 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. It 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.