The legacy continues.
Mrs. Rachel Crane Mather created the Mather School in 1868 to educate the daughters of liberated slaves. She was a firm believer that everyone deserved the chance to get a good education, which is why she acted on her belief and began to teach and raise funds for a women’s dormitory.
In 1901, the Mather School graduated its first three students from elementary school. In 1932, the Mather School high school program was approved by the South Carolina State Department of Education as Mather Industrial School.
By 1954, the School increased its educational opportunities by adding the Junior College Department and allowing male students. More sustained growth and support allowed for an accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in 1955. One year later, Mather Junior College graduated its first class.
100 years after starting, the Mather School was designated by the Office of Economic Opportunity for a pilot program to assist high school graduates in the Lowcountry to overcome certain academic deficiencies before entering college. Then a merger relationship with Benedict College in Columbia began. In 1968, the Beaufort campus was given to the State of South Carolina as an area trade school.
In 1970, The Mather School became known as the Beaufort Regional Training Center, which later joined the State Technical College System and eventually became Beaufort Technical College. In 1988, the name changed to the Technical College of the Lowcountry.
Since its founding in 1867, the Mather School has seen many changes. But one thing remains constant – the belief that all people deserve a chance to further their education.
Mather School Museum & Interpretive Center now open!
Visit the Mather School Museum to learn more.