James and Sallie Townsend were the first black residents to settle in Clermont. They came from Georgia in 1887. They were outstanding citizens - leaders in education, religion and community health. They had a small retail store near their home and founded St. Mark A.M.E. Church which is still serving a congregation. They also started the first school for black children in Clermont. Sallie took a midwife-nursing course and it is estimated she served at the birth of more than a thousand children, both black and white. In 1941 she opened a maternity home for black women. She was known all over town as “Aunt Sallie.”

The Townsend house was built in approximately 1895. It was moved to the Historic Village site in 2002 from its original location, (on what is now Highway 50 - just west of the Auto Zone store). This home has been open to the public since 2005.