Solomons Home opened its doors for residents in September 1962. Its history goes back many years earlier when the youngest and last surviving of the three Solomons sisters, Miss Maude C. Solomons, provided in her will for the opening of a "home for the aged".
Kate C. Solomons
The Solomons family was the first Jewish family to live in Sumter. They were ancestors of Ramon Schwartz, Jr. who is a trustee of the Board of Directors of the Home. The Solomons family lived on Main Street, where the old Court house is now located, in the late 19th century. Mr. Solomons ran a mercantile business on the corner of Main and Liberty Streets, which later became The Sumter Dry Goods. Today the building no longer stands.
Augustus A. Solomons
In 1909, the three spinster daughters of Augustus A. Solomons, sold their home to Dr. S. H. Edmunds (who moved the house to Calhoun Street) and moved to New York City to enjoy the opera and other cultural events in the city. When the older two sisters died, Miss Maude Solomons moved back to Sumter. There was nowhere for an elderly single lady to live, so she resided at Tuomey Hospital. She disliked this arrangement so much that she decided to change her will to leave her estate "as a memorial to my parents, to found a home for the aged in Sumter County, S.C."
When she died in 1951, the trustees that she named for her estate worked diligently to carry out her wishes. By 1962, enough money had been raised and plans made to build the building that still remains as Solomons Home.
For over 50 years, Solomons Home has provided a warm, safe and secure home for Sumter's senior citizens.
