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History · Kempton

Kempton dates to 1869, and 79% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1944 on and the census since 1880.

1869founded

0on the National Register

79%homes built before 1940

1famous people

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Quick answers

How Kempton began

When was Kempton founded?

1869

Kempton dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 114 in 18802020 census: 176157 years

Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1878.The full story ↓

What stands out about Kempton’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Kempton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Kempton’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 409 in 1900; 176 people lived here in 2020.

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The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Kempton’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

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0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

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The story

How Kempton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Kempton.

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A post office was established at the site of Kempton in 1869 and called Sugar Loaf. The name of the post office was changed to Kempton in 1878, when the village was founded and named after its founder, Wright Kemp. Arthur R. Falter (1906–1979), Illinois state legislator and businessman, was born on a farm near Kempton. David Hatcher Childress, famously featured in over 100 episodes of Ancient Aliens on the History Channel lives in Kempton and Camp Verde, Arizona and is another famous resident of Kempton.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Kempton, census by census

Peaked at 409 in 1900; 176 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kempton’s Wikipedia page.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Kempton in 1908

Passages that mention Kempton, cut from the printed page as they were published.

When the village of Kempton sprang up in 1877, the place of worship was transferred to a hall in the village. In the fall of 1881, steps were taken to build a house of worship in Kempton; the following spring the work was commenced, resulting iu the erection of a neat and commodious church edifice,… — **History of Ford County, Illinois**1908 · page 265Read the page →
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When the village of Kempton sprang up in 1877, the place of worship was transferred to a hall in the village. In the fall of 1881, steps were taken to build a house of worship in Kempton; the following spring the work was commenced, resulting iu the erection of a neat and commodious church edifice, costing about two thousand dollars.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

and to Rogers township in 1868, settling on a fine farm in section 31. lie laid out a part of the village of Kempton, called Clayton's Addition. David Huntley, a native of NewYork, came to this township in 1859. and became the owner of two hundred and forty acres in Ford county, and eighty acres, t… — **History of Ford County, Illinois**1908 · page 185Read the page →
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and to Rogers township in 1868, settling on a fine farm in section 31. lie laid out a part of the village of Kempton, called Clayton's Addition. David Huntley, a native of NewYork, came to this township in 1859. and became the owner of two hundred and forty acres in Ford county, and eighty acres, the home place, just over the line in Livingston county.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Kempton, 1869 to 1944

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

19th century
1869
FoundingKempton is established
1874Born hereJohn E. Teeple is born here
1878Post officeThe Kempton post office opens
20th century
1900CensusPopulation peaks at 409
1944On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey

By decade

Kempton, decade by decade

Today1 recent

2018Kempton, Illinois

On the map

Kempton on the map, 1944 to 1998

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kempton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

1944Piper City sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kempton.

Questions about Kempton’s history

What year was Kempton founded?

In 1869, according to Wikidata. Kempton’s post office opened in 1878, and the census of 1880 counted 114 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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