Palmer is located in
Ellis County and lies on I-45 south of the
Dallas, Texas metropolitan area.
The arrival of the Houston and Texas Central Railway in 1872 established the settlement, which quickly became a shipping point for area cotton and grain farmers.
Its population was 758 in the early 1930s and 601 in the mid-1970s. By 1988 Palmer had 1,505 residents and fourteen businesses. In 1990 its population was 1,659.