Our campus has 24 buildings and sits on 40 acres, south of Assumption, Illinois. We are blessed with multiple resources that aid in our mission.

Cottages

Our children live in 3 residential cottages on property. Kemmerer Village, Inc can house up to 21 residents in Allemang, Wheeler, and Carnahan cottages on campus. All of our campus buildings were built between 1954 and 2005. With the rapid expansion of our foster care and community services program, several of the older cottages are currently being used for office space by our foster care teams.

Fergusson Educational Center

Regular and Special Education Jr. and Sr. High classes are taught on Kemmerer’s campus. Class sizes of 4-8 students per teacher & teacher’s aide allow for highly individualized instruction. Our teaching staff are certified for Learning Disabilities, Behavioral Disabilities, and Severe Emotional Disabilities.

Riding Arena

Another bright spot on the Kemmerer Village campus is the Equine Facility. The Franchios Stable and Riding Arena are home to some amazing animals. Built in 2010, the Equine Program is now home to Kemmerer Village therapy horses, dogs, the R.I.D.E. and the Horses and Heroes community therapeutic riding program.

One Man’s Dream Continues to be Alive 

1884

In 1884, a dream was born!  It was in that year an Assumption area farmer, Philip Kemmerer, sat down and wrote out his own will – his gift to the children of the future!  He wrote that his 400 acre farm and assets were to be given to the Presbyterian Churches of Central Illinois to create a home “for the orphans and friendless poor of all denominations”.  And thus, one man’s dream and vision was born.

1914 

Nine years after the death of Philip Kemmerer, the doors of Kemmerer Orphan’s Home opened wide to welcome homeless children, thus putting a plan of action together to fulfill one man’s dream and vision to help the homeless.

In the early years of this century, Kemmerer Orphan’s Home served as a safe haven for many orphaned children of Illinois and also as a large adoption agency.  Clearly, it was the Church’s responsibility, in those days, to care for the needy, poor and orphaned.  Most of the children were preschool and grade school age and all lived on the second floor of the old main building.  There were caring couples who served as superintendents in those days.  They also served as nurses, cooks, launderers, teachers, gardeners, fixer-uppers and “finders” of cash and in-kind gifts for the home as well as caretakers for the 30 children entrusted to their care.

1930

As modern medicine began to help childbearing couples live longer, the role and responsibility of the Church’s children’s homes began to shift away from caring primarily for orphans to that of children of divorce, children born out of wedlock, or those of financially stressed families.  During this time, the cost of caring for children continued to rise and soon the Church could no longer afford the sole responsibility of financing the cost of care for the needy, the poor, the hurting – it became a shared task.  As was typical of many Church homes throughout the country, Kemmerer changed its name from Kemmerer Orphan’s Home to Kemmerer Children’s Home.  The type of care at this point was long term.  Children usually stayed at the home through their entire school years, often five to ten years.  The emphasis of the home at that time was to provide food, shelter and nurture.  Up until the early 1950’s, all the children lived in a centralized institutional environment in the three story main building located at the center of campus.

1954

The Board of Directors for Kemmerer began a new and radical program of decentralization to offer the 40 children the opportunity to live in small family-like, ranch style cottages with 10-12 fellow children, rather than being all housed in two large dormitories on the second floor of the main building.  During the next 20 years, a gymnasium and ranch style cottages were constructed on the 20 acre campus.  Caring, live-in houseparents served in each cottage.  During this time, County Courts, who shared the welfare responsibilities of the needy, referred to the majority of children to Kemmerer.

1968

At the suggestion of the children to relieve some stigma of living in a children’s home, the home was renamed Kemmerer Village, symbolic of the new campus and family like environment at Kemmerer.

1980

The decade of the 80’s was a period of much change.  Kemmerer Village once again experienced a change in the type of children needing its care.  No longer were the children orphans or children who were simply products of family breakdowns and needing long-term custodial care.  These children came with many and varied hurts – victims of physical abuse, desertion, sexual abuse, neglect, and family and community violence.  These children now brought with them challenging behavior problems, school problems, low self esteem, anger, suicidal tendencies, and a lack of respect or trust in adults.  No longer could these children successfully learn in a regular community educational setting.  Thus, in 1983, a new on grounds special education program was designed by Kemmerer Village and the Assumption School District.  In 1989, the Fergusson Educational Center opened, expanding the number of classrooms for on-campus students and providing the school with a building for its sole use.  A fifth cottage opened on campus that same year, allowing the Village to now serve 52 children in the residential program.  Additional on-campus support services to these “special needs children” included extensive therapy counseling, psychiatric services, medical care, recreational therapy services, as well as Christian education.  The children remained actively involved in the church life of various Presbyterian churches in the area.  Additional community based programs of life skills; supervised independent living, aftercare counseling, aftercare advocacy, and therapeutic foster care were added, bringing the number of children served within the communities to 45.  The Village now had nearly 100 children entrusted to its care.

2002

In February, the Margaret J. Dick Campus Center, at the south end of the campus, opened for use.  The centerpiece of the building is the Village’s first on-campus Chapel.  Along with the addition of a chapel, Kemmerer Village hired our first Chaplain.  Christian education is now available to all of our children without leaving the campus, and the children now have their “own church”.  The west end of the Campus Center houses a new cafeteria which serves as both a dining and training facility, which can seat 150 people.  The east end of the building now is the home of the administrative offices for both the residential and community services programs and the business department.

2003

In September, Tate Cottage was opened to become the sixth residential cottage on-campus, to house our expanding residential client population which had grown to 56 clients.

2005

Two newly constructed resident cottages, Allemang and Carnahan, were completed and opened on the west side of campus.  There were now eight cottages housing our residential clients.  Rather than using the additional cottages to increase Kemmerer Village’s overall residential population, the new cottages allowed us to lower the average number of clients in a cottage from ten to seven.  We were also able to increase the number of direct care staff at this time in order to provide our residential clients with even more individual attention and care.

2010

An indoor riding arena and new stable area was developed for our horses and our Equine Therapy program.  The 11,000 square foot facility was adjoined to our existing barn and stables and an additional seven and a half acres of pasture.  Our Equestrian Therapy Program will allow us to pursue more non-traditional avenues with our clientele.

Today, Kemmerer Village serves approximately 120 children through our Residential Treatment and Foster Care Programs daily.

2016

Kemmerer Village assumed management of the Illinois Inter-Agency Athletic Association.  This group had functioned as an independent body since 1976 through a grant from the state of Illinois. In 2016, Kemmerer Village assumed management of this program and grant through our Recreation program.  The IIAA provides an opportunity of children who are involved with Residential Treatment, Foster Care, Shelters, Boys and Girls programs across the state to participate in sports teams and other competition.  The IIAA places a strong emphasis on sportsmanship and frustration tolerance as well as specific skill building for our youth.

2018

Significant growth occurred in the Community Services Department as the number of children served rose from a consistent 60, doubling and then tripling. To adapt, staff offices were added in the former North Cottage with space for family visiting.

Kemmerer Village also began providing the Horses and Heroes program as part of our Equine programming. In the “Horses and Heroes” program, residents who have advanced in their clinical program are selected to continue their growth by serving as volunteers to riders who come from the community.  This is a unique and wonderful opportunity for residents to work alongside qualified community volunteers to help others and learn more about becoming leaders

2021

Kemmerer Village merged with Camp Carew in beautiful southern Illinois. Through extensive negotiations with the Presbytery of Southeastern Illinois, Kemmerer Village assumed management of Camp Carew, joining with the existing Camp Director and Camp Advisory Council to ensure the long-term success of this wonderful camping program.

2025

Kemmerer Village opened the Assumption Community Child Care Center in Assumption, IL in June, 2025. Through the combined efforts of the United Methodist Church of Assumption and the Assumption Community Pride Association, we provide a loving and stimulating environment for 27 children through our licensed child care center. Located in the United Methodist Church of Assumption, our colorful and welcoming center combines learning and play to children from communities surrounding Assumption.

Kemmerer Village expanded our Equine services to include the R.I.D.E program which offers Equine experiences to children of all ages and ability levels.

2026

Kemmerer Village is expanding our preventative community family services through two new contracts with the Department of Children and Family Services. Norman Housing provides case management to young adults and families who have been involved with the DCFS system to obtain and maintain safe and healthy housing. The Safe at Home contract will provide in home Safety Management support to families experiencing stress and turmoil. The goal is to maintain the children’s safety within the home environment without necessitating a removal by DCFS. Both new contracts will support children and families in the counties surrounding our original Christian County address.