DR MATILDA A. EVANS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION INC
The Dr. Matilda A. Evans Educational Foundation Inc was established in March 2024 and is named after a true pioneer in the field of medicine. She was the first Black person, male or female, to be licensed to practice medicine in the state of South Carolina in 1897.
She was a surgeon. She also practiced Obstetrics and Gynecology. She treated both white and black patients in her home until she founded the Taylor Lane Hospital in 1901, the first hospital in South Carolina which allowed other Black Physicians to treat and admit patients.
The second hospital that Dr. Matilda A. Evans founded was the St. Luke Hospital, also located in Columbia, South Carolina. Dr. Matilda A. Evans also founded the St. Luke Nursing School, as well as cofounded the Palmetto Medical Association of South Carolina. In 1930 she established Columbia’s first free health clinic for African American children.
Dr. Matilda A. Evans was the first Black woman to become the president of a state medical association, The Palmetto Medical Association. She also served as the Regional Vice President of the National Medical Association in South Carolina. She established the Negro Health Journal of South Carolina. She served as president of the Congaree Medical Association. Dr. Evans also served as chair of the Council of the Episcopal Church Upper Diocese.
She trained interns from several medical colleges, including Harvard University. She was an advocate for children’s health, sanitation in public schools, and promoted healthy practices and preventative care. After conducting a survey, she started the implementation of health care in public schools. She also petitioned the state of South Carolina to provide free vaccination for Black children.
In 1918, Dr Matilda Evans volunteered in the Medical Service Corps of the United States Army during World War I.
In 1930 she founded the Columbia Clinic Association and the Good Health Association of South Carolina to encourage healthy practices and sanitation.
Dr. Matilda A. Evans also established The College Inn on Hardin Street, a restaurant for college students attending Benedict College and Allen University. On the second floor of The College Inn were offices where black businesses, such as an insurance company and a hair salon could open for their customers.
Dr. Matilda A. Evans founded Dr. Evans Park and Swimming Pool for the public, which was established on her 20-acre farm.
Dr. Matilda A. Evans was born in post-civil war South Carolina on May 13th, 1872, in Sally, South Carolina, near Aiken. She died on November 17th, 1935, in Columbia, South Carolina at the age of 63 years old. Dr. Matilda A. Evans was educated at the Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, which was founded for women in 1850 and was the second medical institution in the world that trained women in medicine and to earn a Medical Degree. She also graduated from Oberlin College in 1891. Oberlin College was founded in 1833 in Oberlin, Ohio and is the oldest coeducational liberal arts college in the United States and the second oldest continuously operating coeducational institute of higher learning in the world. She also taught for a while at Haines Institute in Augusta, Georgia.
Dr. Matilda A. Evans received her high school diploma from The Martha Schofield Normal and Industrial School, founded in 1868 in Aiken, South Carolina. Martha Schofield was a Hicksite Quaker who founded the school named after her. Martha Schofield raised a young Matilda Evans as her own child and provided most of her education. If it was not for Martha Schofield’s assistance, there might never have been a Dr. Matilda A. Evans.
Dr. Matilda A. Evans adopted six children, John, Mattie, Gretchen, Myrtle, Edward, and Sydney. She helped to raise and educate countless others. Her home at 2027 Taylor Street in Columbia, South Carolina, is where she lived from 1928 to 1935. Dr. Evan’s home was listed in the National Register as a historical site on January 22, 2019. An on-site historical marker commemorates some of her accomplishments.
Dr. Matilda A. Evans enjoyed swimming, dancing, socializing, and networking. She played piano and enjoyed farming on her farm. She served many of the patients by riding her bicycle to their homes. Her income came mostly from selling products raised on her farm as well as from wealthy donations from her white patients and others.