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Kemp studied the development of the suspension bridges for the Smithsonian Institute while partnering with them on projects from 1984-2003. His research took him to Great Britain, France and Germany. The box includes correspondence, brochures, handwritten notes, bibliographies, facsimile book excerpts and facsimile drawings. Subjects include suspension bridges in France, Great Britain and the United States, the Lehigh Valley and the Juniata Crossing Chain Bridge in particular, James Finley, Samuel Brown, Marc Seguin, the Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Company, and navigation along the Rhône River. Correspondents include Don Sayenga. The following oversize items were moved to Map Cabinet 12, Drawer 8, Folder 3: 2 pages of correspondence (1984), 1 sheet research institution pull slip (undated); 1 sheet of an article (1984); 1 brochure (undated), 10 pages bibliography (undated).

Kemp and his student, Ed Winant, studied early hydraulic systems in Edinburgh, Scotland. They also studied the Old Croton Aqueduct in New York City, New York. Kemp and Winant attempted to publish articles based on their work, and eventually published "John Jervis and the Hydraulic Design of the Old Croton Aqueduct" in the journal Canal History and Technology Proceedings and "Edinburgh's First Water Supply: The Comiston Aqueduct, 1675-1721" in the journal Civil Engineer International . The box contains materials from their research and publication process, as well as materials Winant prepared before he defended his dissertation, "The Hydraulics Revolution: Science and Technical Design of Urban Water Supply in the Enlightenment." The box includes correspondence, drafts of his defense, editorial comments, newsletters, and charts. The box also includes facsimiles of the following: drawings, maps, engineering drawings, books, and book excerpts. Subjects include aqueducts; waterworks in Edinburgh, Scotland; the Old Croton Aqueduct in New York City, New York; the Comiston Aqueduct in Edinburgh, Scotland; hydraulic systems; Enlightenment-era urban water supply systems; European engineers; John B. Jervis; and J.T. Desaguliers. The following oversize items were moved to Box 344: two engineering drawings (1992).

The USACE appointed Kemp to document the Gallipolis Locks and Dam for the NRHP. This box contains his research, including facsimile and original photographs, draft and final reports, indexes to photographs and correspondence. Subjects include the Gallipolis Locks and Dam, bridges and the Kanawha River. Highlights include the HAER report about the Gallipolis Locks and Dam operation building. The following items were moved to Map Cabinet 12, Drawer 1, Folder 5: four facsimile engineering drawings of sections of the Gallipolis Locks and Dam (1881 and undated), a brochure of the Gallipolis Locks and Dam (undated) and one chart (undated).

The USACE appointed Kemp to document the Gallipolis Locks and Dam for the NRHP. This box contains his research, including photographic prints, photo indices, diagrams, facsimile topographic maps, and a photogrammetric record report. Subjects include Winfield, London, Marmet, and Gallipolis Locks and Dams, and Wheeling Custom House (also known as West Virginia Independence Hall). The following items were moved to Map Cabinet 12, Drawer 1, Folder 4: twenty-three sheets of engineering drawings (undated).

Kemp wrote chapters for a book that was tentatively called "Celebrating Grafton," "Visualizing the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Grafton," or "Grafton and the B&O Railroad: A Visual History." There is no evidence that the book was ever published. The box includes drafts for the book, typed notes, correspondence and a magazine. The box also includes facsimiles of the following: maps, drawings, photographic prints and engineering drawings. Subjects include Grafton, West Virginia; the construction and use of the B&O railroad, the South Shore Inter-Urban Railroad, the Northwestern Turnpike which crossed West Virginia; Taylor County, West Virginia; and Three Forks Creek near Grafton, West Virginia. Highlights include the Grafton B&O Station and Hotel Preliminary Feasibility Study. The following oversize item was moved to Box 344: one map (undated).

Kemp served on the HAER Advisory Committee. As part of his research for the committee, he collected photographs of historic bridges and other structures from West Virginia. Many of the materials Kemp collected related to R.P. Davis, a dean of West Virginia University's College of Engineering and the designer of historic bridges in West Virginia. The box includes photographs collected by Kemp and HAER committee materials, including photographic prints, photographic negatives, contact sheets, correspondence, brochures, handwritten notes, facsimile book excerpts and facsimile grant applications. Subjects include historical preservation, HAER, and historic structures (mostly bridges) in Maryland, Pennsylvania and the West Virginia counties of Gilmer, Harrison, Kanawha, Lewis, Marion, Monongalia, Preston, Taylor, Wetzel and Wood. Highlights include a 1930s-era pamphlet about the Smithsonian Museums. The following oversize items were moved to Map Cabinet 12, Drawer 11, Folder 6: one map (1976), four sheets of clippings (1978-1979), 3 sheets of report (undated).