Gateway to Savage Falls

Palmer, originally known as Tate’s Village, was incorporated in 1925 and renamed in honor of Clarence William Palmer (1850-1919), who owned much of the land upon which the town was established.

The area thrived during the early 20th Century due in part to coal mining operations, which you can learn more about at the Grundy County Miners Museum and Heritage Center in Palmer.

Palmer is just south of the Savage Gulf East trailhead in Savage Gulf State Park, off State Route 399. Savage Falls, the Savage Creek Cascade, several campgrounds, and many overlooks of the 500-acre Werner Old Growth Forest — one of the few areas in the Southeast that were never timbered — can all be accessed from that trailhead.

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