Central Missouri / Missouri River Corridor
Kemper's old campus still shapes Boonville's historic map
The Kemper Military School Historic District keeps a former Boonville campus visible in Cooper County's National Register landscape.
Kemper began in Boonville in 1844 with five students and one teacher, Frederick T. Kemper. Enrollment reached 35 by the end of that year. In 1845, the school moved to the west edge of town, where the campus grew around barracks, classrooms, a parade field, sports grounds, and Kemper Lake.
The school closed after the 2001-2002 school year. Boonville bought the campus at auction in 2003. A 2024 National Register update expanded the historic district beyond the original academic core to cover the larger campus.
That is why Kemper still takes up more than one building on Boonville’s map. The old school survives as a whole civic landscape, bounded generally by Vine, Third, and Spruce streets and the Katy Trail.
Where to see it
- Cooper County National Register listings
Use Missouri State Parks to confirm the Kemper Military School Historic District listing.
References
More from Cooper County: browse every local note for the county.
Last checked against the sources above: July 16, 2026.