RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Welcome to Kemper ...

Kemper is located in Des Moines County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Kemper, you might get a feel for it by knowing that the earliest mention that we've found (so far) was on a map dated 1911.

Kemper is 530 feet [162 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Kemper lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Kemper: 319

Communities Also Named Kemper ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 4 communities that are also named Kemper - they are located in Illinois, Louisiana, South Carolina and West Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Kemper.

Communities near Kemper ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Kemper.

  • Burlington
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Fort Madison
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • West Burlington
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Burlington have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Burlington
    • West Burlington is located in Des Moines County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,875 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Burlington <3>
  • New London
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New London have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New London
    • New London is located in Henry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,825 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New London <3>
  • Mediapolis
    (18 miles [29 km] to the north)
  • Oquawka
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oquawka
    • Oquawka is located in Henderson County (IL)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,231 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oquawka <3>
  • La Harpe
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Harpe
    • La Harpe is located in Hancock County (IL)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,123 people
  • Nauvoo
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Nauvoo
    • Nauvoo is located in Hancock County (IL)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,044 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Nauvoo <3>
  • West Point
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Danville
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Danville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
    • Danville is located in Des Moines County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 896 people

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Kemper. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Kemper.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Kemper. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Kemper.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Kemper. See our Newspapers Page for Kemper.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Kemper ...

Looking for more information about Kemper? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Kemper, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Kemper.

Adding Kemper to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Kemper in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Kemper was on a map titled Map of Iowa (from Rand McNally, 1911).

We also found Kemper in the book titled SPV's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas of North America - Prairies East & Ozarks.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Kemper.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Des Moines, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Kemper - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.