Newport Academy

Emily Ward established the Newport Academy about 1845 to provide educational opportunities for area children. A niece of Newport founder Samuel Ward and sister of shipping magnate and steel industrialist Eber Brock Ward, she conducted the academy for about twenty years. The building, erected in 1847, was one of the first school buildings in the community. The city bought it in 1868 and moved it from a nearby corner to its present location in 1870. Over time it has served as both a private and public school, a village hall and jail, a hose house, and a church. Since 1939, the structure has housed the Marine City Public Library.

Marine City, Michigan · United States