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Boonville in Cooper County, Missouri — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
 

Kemper Military School & College 1844-2002

 
 
Kemper Military School & College 1844-2002 Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 1, 2024
1. Kemper Military School & College 1844-2002 Marker
Inscription. On this site stood one of America's premiere military schools. Founded in 1844 by Professor Frederick T Kemper, the school became known as the “Oldest Military School west of the Mississippi” and was regarded as the “West Point of the West.” The school's graduates went on to serve in all the professions and have been represented in every war the United States has fought from the Civil War to Operation Enduring Freedom.

Cadets who attended Kemper came from every state in the Union and from nearly every country in the world. Will Rogers, a noted American actor and humorist, attended Kemper as a young man. The school's “Gold Star” Alumni Roll of Honor denoting those who had fallen in time of war is one of the largest for a school this size.

Founded as a male boarding school, Kemper used peer leadership and a system of voluntary compliance called the Standard of Honor for instilling and maintaining order and discipline. Professor Kemper's creed for his beloved school, “The object is to develop in harmony the physical, mental, and moral abilities, not to create mere scholars but to make men,” became so copied it has been used by most institutions of higher learning and even some of the Armed Forces of the United States.

At the school's peak from about 1920 through 1970, the school annually enrolled nearly 500 cadets. The orderly conduct and day-to-day routine of the Corps of Cadets was administered by the students themselves. Today the Eternal Corps of Cadets through four of the original founders of Echo Company, Kemper Military School, present you with a portion of our heritage – Nunquam Non Paratus or never unprepared. Be prepared for whatever may come, the future is yet to be written.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education
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Military. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1844.
 
Location. 38° 58.261′ N, 92° 44.745′ W. Marker is in Boonville, Missouri, in Cooper County. It is on 3rd Street north of Spruce Street, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 716 3rd St, Boonville MO 65233, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Missouri River Corridor. It is also in the American Midwest, in the Lewis & Clark Corridor, in the Corn Belt, and on the Santa Fe Trail Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: In Memory of Hannah Cole (approx. 0.2 miles away); Roslyn Heights (approx. 0.2 miles away); Capture of Union Troops (approx. Ό mile away); Thespian Hall (approx.
Kemper Military School & College 1844-2002 Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, March 22, 2019
2. Kemper Military School & College 1844-2002 Marker
Ό mile away); The Civil War in Boonville (approx. Ό mile away); 25th Anniversary (approx. Ό mile away); Boonville to Pilot Grove (approx. Ό mile away); From Boone's Lick to Boonslick (approx. Ό mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Boonville.
 
Also see . . .
1. Kemper Military School. Wikipedia entry on the defunct private military school, which opened with five students in 1844. (Submitted on July 26, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.) 

2. Kemper Military School & College Museum. Homepage for the museum, which opened in downtown Boonville in 2021 and is open by appointment. (Submitted on July 26, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.) 

3. Kemper Addition Historic District. National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (Submitted on July 26, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.) 
 
T.A. Johnston Field House and Pool Annex image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 1, 2024
3. T.A. Johnston Field House and Pool Annex
The complex was built in 1923-25 during the administration of Superintendent Col. T.A. Johnston, for whom it is named. Renovated in 2006, it is now used by the Boonslick Heartland YMCA.
"D" Barracks image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 1, 2024
4. "D" Barracks
Built in 1916-18, it originally housed a training area in the basement, offices and a dining room on the first floor, and barracks on the upper floors.
Kemper Military School & College image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, July 1, 2024
5. Kemper Military School & College
One of the entrances to the central campus, which now has been redeveloped into a park, a community college campus and a YMCA, among other uses.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on December 11, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 26, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 562 times since then and 87 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 26, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
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Jul. 28, 2026