Kidder of the Kidder Land Company in Boston,[5] which was seeking to encourage non-slave owning European immigrants to settle along the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad which at the time was the furthest west railroad in the United States.

It reopened in 1877 as the Kidder Institute and operated under the auspices of the Congregational Church of Missouri.

[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.40 square miles (1.04 km2), all land.

24.8% of all households comprised individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The racial makeup of the city was 99.26% White, 0.37% African American, and 0.37% from two or more races.

27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

About 15.6% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.8% of those under the age of eighteen and 5.3% of those 65 or over.