Clara Louise Kellogg

(Front) Clara Louise Kellogg, said to be the first American-trained prima donna, was born near here in 1842. Her family later moved to New York, where, at age 14, she began to study voice, making her debut four years later. Miss Kellogg soon became world famous. A leading operatic soprano in America and abroad, she sang in such cities as London, Vienna, and Saint Petersburg.

(Reverse) In 1873, Clara Louise Kellogg, world-famous American prima donna, helped organize the English Opera Company, one of the earliest attempts in this country to produce opera in English. At the height of her career, Miss Kellogg included her native Sumter on a concert tour. In 1887, she married her manager, Carl Strakosch, and withdrew from public life.

She died in New Hartford, Connecticut, in 1916. Erected by Sumter County Historical Commission, 1980