Mount Palmer was named after John Palmer, a merchant from Calcutta who had purchased the hill and its surrounding area. Having gone bankrupt, Palmer had to sell a portion of the hill to a Parsi who turned it into a Parsi burial ground in 1828. In 1855, at the southern end of the hill, the government built the Mount Palmer Defence Battery. In the early 1870s, discussions began about the possible removal of the hill as it was obstructing access to the town. A road was constructed from Collyer Quay (through Robinson and Anson Roads, and later Keppel Road) to the docks which passed through part of Mount Palmer. Fort Palmer was the last military installation to be removed from Tanjong Pagar, and it was eventually demolished in 1905 for the second Telok Ayer Reclamation Project.
