Best Web Design in Newport, MI (2026)

Web Design for Newport, Michigan

Newport is an unincorporated community in Berlin Charter Township, Monroe County, Michigan, near the western shore of Lake Erie. French settlers arrived around 1830 along Swan Creek, and a post office opened in 1836. The community is best known as the site of DTE Energy's Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station, whose Fermi 1 reactor partially melted down in 1966.

AppWT works with Newport businesses from Livonia, a short drive away.

About Newport

History. Settled around 1830 by French settlers who lived along Swan Creek; the name Newport derives from the community's location near Lake Erie. A post office was first established on August 16, 1836, discontinued July 1, 1841, and reestablished on August 16, 1842. In 1867 the eastern portion of Ash Township was reorganized to form Berlin Township, which contains Newport; St. Charles Cemetery was established in 1851 and holds a grave dated to 1802.

Local economy. The Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station (Fermi 2), a boiling water reactor owned and operated by DTE Energy, sits on the Lake Erie shore at Newport and uses the 48166 ZIP code; Fermi 2 began commercial operation on January 23, 1988. Fermi 1, an experimental sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor at the same site, achieved criticality in 1963 and operated commercially from 1966 until its 1972 shutdown.

Culture and community. St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, established in 1882, stands at 8125 Swan Creek Road. The historic Newport railroad station was moved and restored and is now used by the Newport Community Church. The 1966 Fermi 1 partial meltdown inspired John G. Fuller's 1975 book 'We Almost Lost Detroit' and Gil Scott-Heron's 1977 song of the same name.

What makes Newport distinct. On October 5, 1966, Fermi 1 suffered a partial fuel meltdown, though no radioactive material was released off-site. Swan Creek runs through the center of the community and flows about five miles to Lake Erie; French inhabitants originally referred to the waterway by a swan-creek name. The site of the Fermi plant was previously the location of Lagoona Beach, a former Lake Erie recreation area.