BOONVILLE, Mo. -- "AUCTION" proclaims the yellow billboard on Interstate 70, one more sign of the passing of what was once the oldest military academy west of the Mississippi River.

Kemper Military School, founded in 1844 and shut down last summer because of financial problems, will be sold off bit by bit in early April -- classroom buildings, dormitories, and everything else, right down to old military boots, student uniforms, swords and class pictures.

"We will be selling anything and everything that was in the school at the time they shut down," Larry McCoy, eastern regional president for Citizens Bank & Trust, said Thursday.

The Boonville bank was the high bidder for Kemper Military School during an auction last September, paying $2 million.

Never reopened

Despite efforts by former students and administrators to finance a revival of the school, it never reopened.

The public auction is set for April 4.

The sale is being promoted in newspaper and magazine ads, with billboards and through brochures being mailed to thousands of alumni and school supporters.

Kemper's dozen buildings and 48-acre grounds have been separated into parcels for the auction.

McCoy said the whole facility, with 245,000 square feet of total space, will be offered as a package; if it doesn't sell, the auctioneer will then peddle the properties by parcel.

Live bidding will be available on the Internet, the auction company said.

"Whichever approach brings the most money is what will happen," McCoy said.

Among items to be auctioned: two Bibles on which generations of Kemper cadets swore to abide by the school's code of ethics.

On April 2 and 3, the auction company will open the school's store and quartermaster storage for advance sales of contemporary school memorabilia, including hundreds of brand-new cadet uniforms.

Boonville Mayor Danielle Blanck said she nurtures hopes that a financial angel will emerge to rescue and reopen Kemper.

'A lot of money'

"Everybody hates to see Kemper go away, but nobody seems to know what to do with it. It's huge, especially when you start walking around all these dorms. How do you insure it, maintain it? It's a lot of money," Blanck said.

The school was founded by F.T. Kemper with five students.

Famous former students included cowboy philosopher Will Rogers, Western actor Hugh O'Brian and George Lindsay, who played Goober on the Andy Griffith Show.