Born in Rockford, North Carolina, Folger attended public schools in Surry County.

Admitted to the bar in 1901, Folger opened a law practice in Dobson, North Carolina.

He was elected mayor of the town of Mount Airy, North Carolina from 1909, serving until 1911.

Folger did not stand for reelection in 1948 and returned to his law practice in Mount Airy, North Carolina, from which he retired in 1959.

He died in Clemmons, North Carolina in 1963 and is buried in Mount Airy's Oakdale Cemetery.