Stephenson Public Library in Marinette, Feb. 18, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
MARINETTE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Marinette is considering the future of two key educational sites.
Marinette County runs the Stephenson Public Library. It’s operated out of the Stephenson building, which is owned by the city of Marinette.
The county owns the former UW-Green Bay Marinette campus, where its former library resides. The county is now considering moving the Stephenson Public Library to the campus library building.
That was the topic of discussion at a special meeting Wednesday, but Common Council members made it clear they have no interest in moving the Stephenson library.
“No. It’s a historic building downtown. It’s been there for decades. We do not want to see the library move from downtown in the city of Marinette,” said Mayor Steve Genisot. “I think what the county is looking at is, if we don’t have a permanent lease, we have a building at the UW library. But from the city’s perspective, we give them a 99-year lease — I don’t know why they’d be against that.”
The Stephenson Public Library was built in 1903 with a $30,000 gift from Isaac Stephenson, a major employer and philanthropist in Marinette County’s early days and an eventual U.S. senator.
The land and building was deeded to the city. If the land/building is no longer used for a public library, the land reverts to the Stephenson family heirs. The only way to change this would be to change the deed with the participation of the heirs, according to Marinette County Libraries.
A Facebook post reads:
During the Marinette County Library consolidation in 1976, an agreement was drawn up regarding the upkeep and maintenance of the Stephenson Public Library. A signed copy of this agreement cannot be located at this time.
Marinette County and the taxpayers have invested in our building through additions and maintenance over the years. At this point, the county are not interested in continuing to invest in a building they don’t own without an official agreement with the city of Marinette.
Without city of Marinette support, Marinette County intends to relocate the Stephenson Public Library to the building that formerly housed the UW-Marinette Library on county-owned property.
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