Rachel Crane Mather

Rachel Crane Rich Mather (February 5, 1823 – February 11, 1903) established the Mather School for daughters of freed slaves in 1867 in South Carolina. The school eventually became the Technical College of the Lowcountry.

Mather believed that God wanted her to help freed slaves, and was assigned by the American Missionary Association to teach at a normal school for freed slaves in Beaufort, South Carolina. She was especially heartbroken over the many orphans she saw, whose parents had often been sold or shipped elsewhere, and who were living in the streets with no access to food or education. The Mather School was supported financially by the Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society. It began with a focus on elementary-aged girls, but expanded to middle school, high school, and college as time went on.

The school continued until 1968, at which point it was sold to the state of South Carolina. The school eventually became the Technical College of the Lowcountry. Greg Rawls, a Beaufort Arts Council member, said regarding the opening: "This is an amazing story that people just don't seem to know about... What we want is for this Beaufort story to be more than just a sign by the road."

Thomas Leitzel, president of the Technical College of the Lowcountry, called Mather a "hero with a vision and commitment to making life better through education."