Palmer Funeral Home

Front inscription

Palmer Funeral Home opened at this site in 1933. It was founded by Edmund Perry Palmer Sr., who in 1925 graduated from N.Y.’s Renouard Training School for Embalmers and became one of the first formally trained Black funeral directors in Sumter. He and wife Ellie Dibble Palmer were both children of Reconstruction-era state legislators and ran the business together. They also resided on-site with their four sons.

Palmer Memorial Chapel

Four generations of the Palmer family have managed the funeral home, later renamed Palmer Memorial Chapel. The Palmer family, under leadership of Robert John Palmer, actively supported numerous mid-20th century social causes, including civil rights and voter education. Freedom Riders briefly sheltered at the funeral home in 1961 when passing through Sumter. Though altered, the original funeral home still stands.