Marvin Kemper is working on his authorized reproduction of Indiana’s Official State Rifle. The “Grouseland Rifle” was crafted around 1803 by Indiana’s first sheriff, Colonel John Small (1759-1821), and designated the state’s official rifle by act of legislature in 2012. Marvin’s reproduction was commissioned by the Grouseland Foundation in Vincennes and should be complete by summer. Grouseland will offer the reproduction at auction in September, with proceeds supporting historic preservation.
Marvin’s rifle is faithful to Col. Small’s original flintlock design, and many of the tools he uses are from the early 1800s when John Small originally built the Grouseland Rifle. Marvin inherited many of these chisels, burins, and veining tools from his father, Cornell Kemper, who built more than 3,000 flintlock rifles over 50 years.
Cornell’s presence is thick in his son’s workshop: photos of Cornell, his Purple Heart license plates, even his weathered ball cap hang from the walls.
