Kemper opened in 1844 as the Boonville Boarding School and ran continuously for 158 years before bankruptcy closed it in 2002, making it the oldest boys' military school west of the Mississippi at the time of its demise. The handsome brick campus on the east edge of downtown — drill hall, barracks, and academic buildings around a parade ground — is still largely intact, now reused as a city campus for State Fair Community College and various civic uses.
The campus is open during normal college hours; signage explains the school's history, and a small museum room near the entrance holds uniforms, cadet photographs, and memorabilia from the school's long run.