Originally the home of the Big River tribe of Aboriginal people, Kempton was first settled by Europeans in 1820.

Two convict stations were situated in Green Ponds and a military barracks at Glenfern Estate.

[3] In 1838 the town was renamed after early administrator and businessman Anthony Fenn Kemp who established the property Mount Vernon immediately to the north of where the township later grew.

The hotel at Kempton was a popular first night stop for the trip from Hobart to Launceston.

Green Ponds Post Office opened on 1 June 1832 and was renamed Kempton in 1895.