For more than a century, Missouri Military Academy has been leading the way to success for young men from across the United States and around the world.

The Academy was founded in November 1889 when the citizens of Mexico, Missouri donated funds and 20 acres of land for the purpose of establishing a military school. The task of building MMA fell to Col. A.F. Fleet, a US Civil War veteran, who erected the campus' first buildings southwest of the city.

When fire destroyed the school's original site in the fall of 1896, Col. Fleet removed the cadets to Culver Military Academy (now the Culver Academies).

In 1900, the Businessmen's Association of Mexico and Col. A.K. Yancey of the Alabama Military Institute rebuilt MMA. The City of Mexico assisted the project with a contribution of $10,000, which was used to purchase the grounds on which the modern Academy is located. On Sept. 20 of that year, the doors of the Academy opened once more.

Upon Col. Yancey's death in 1901, his business partner, Col. William D. Fonville, assumed the office of superintendent and oversaw the construction of additional barracks. After his retirement in 1911, Col. Fonville was succeeded by Col. W.R. Kohr and, three years later in 1914, by Col. E.Y. Burton.

In 1933, Col. C.R. Stribling, Jr., a 13-year member of the MMA faculty, assumed command of the school. Under Col. Stribling, the Academy solidified its position as one of the nation's leading prep schools. In 1948, the Academy was reorganized as a not-for-profit educational organization, controlled by a Board of Trustees.

In 1968, Col. Stribling's son, Col. Charles R. Stribling, III, member of the MMA Class of 1944 and MMA faculty member since 1952, followed his father and served as the President of the school for 25 years. The elder Col. Stribling remained on campus as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees until his death in 1983. In 1981, the school's administration building was renamed Stribling Hall to honor his lasting contribution to MMA.

MMA celebrated its Centennial in 1989, four years after being named one of the nation's Exemplary Private Schools by the US Department of Education.

Col. Charles R. Stribling, III, served as President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees concurrently for 10 years after his father's death until Col. Ronald J. Kelly, veteran MMA teacher, coach, company advisor, admissions director, executive officer and superintendent, was elected as the eighth President of the Academy in August 1993. Col. Stribling continues as Chairman.

Today, Missouri Military Academy is considered one of the leading military schools and boarding schools in the country with a remarkable record of college admission. It has up-to-date technology; modern air-conditioned barracks; a Gymtorium with a first-class weight room, basketball court, and performing arts center; a field house complete with indoor running track, rifle range, 2 tennis courts and 4 basketball courts; and a Natatorium which houses a 25-meter indoor swimming pool with a diving tank. The outdoor recreational/sports areas include tennis courts, a riding stable, a 43-foot rappelling tower, Colonels Football Field, soccer fields, an all-weather track, Brad Calvert Baseball Field; and a back campus wilderness area with a lake, lakefront lodge and stream.

Though the school's physical plant has changed throughout the years, MMA's mission and motto remain the same; to teach young men to look like a soldier, act like a gentleman and study like a scholar.