Sponsored by the Congregational Churches, it was a co-educational high school intended to serve the isolated, northern parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

Wheeler Hall, built in 1892, was the North Wisconsin Academy's sole building, providing classroom space, board and cafeteria services.

The building was renovated in 1993 and 1994 and remains the centerpiece of campus, housing classrooms and faculty offices for the social sciences and humanities.

In their call for donations, they declared that the college lacked the funding to remain open beyond the current academic year.

The college has a relationship with the nearby Native American communities, being close to the Lac Courte Oreilles, Bad River and Red Cliff Ojibwe reservations.

The institute works to educate the North country, students and community members about Great Lakes environmental issues.

Northland College is a sponsoring partner of the Chequamegon Bay Area Partnership, a coalition of 14 regional municipalities and tribal governments, state and federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations working toward the restoration of Lake Superior.

[10][11][12][13][14] The campus has a wind turbine, five photovoltaic arrays, several rain gardens, and a geothermal heating and cooling system.

Northland is an active member of several organizations focused on sustainability in higher education, including the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, the Midwest Regional Collaborative for Sustainability Education, the Campus Consortium for Environmental Excellence, and the Leadership Circle of the American Colleges and Universities Presidents' Climate Commitment, which commits participating colleges to constructing buildings that meet or exceed LEED Silver certification.

The buildings are predominantly brick with sharply peaked roofs, in an effort to emulate the region's historical brownstone architecture.