Kimball served as a general in the Utah Militia and led his men in the Indian wars and handcart pioneer rescue.

Kimball settled in Parley's Park, where his stage station and hotel gained notoriety with travelers, including Mark Twain.

Like many early Latter-day Saints, Kimball practiced plural marriage and had five wives and twenty-five children.

His house and barn stand to this day at Kimball's Junction near Park City, Utah.

Kimball was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England from 1854 to 1856.