Quigless Clinic
Also known as: Quigless Clinic-Hospital
Why it's listed
Built in 1946 at the corner of Main and St. Andrews streets in Tarboro, this two-story brick building housed the clinic and hospital of Dr. Milton Douglas Quigless. Quigless, a Meharry Medical College graduate, arrived in Tarboro in 1936 and was denied privileges at the local white hospital for almost ten years, treating patients in their homes. A bank loan of $30,000 allowed him to replace an old fish market with the twenty-five-bed clinic, which opened on December 3, 1946, and filled within a week. It was the first fully equipped African American owned and operated medical facility in Edgecombe County. The building is modest, with brick quoins, a belt course, a stepped cornice and glass block windows, but its floor plan survives with wards, an X-ray room, a drugstore and a nursery. Full in-patient care ended in 1975, and Quigless saw out-patients until shortly before his death in 1997. The clinic is valued for its role in African American medical care.
Significance in brief: It was the first fully equipped African American owned and operated medical facility in Edgecombe County, founded by Dr. Milton Douglas Quigless during segregation. It is significant under Criteria A and B for Health/Medicine, Social History and Ethnic Heritage/Black. Its intact floor plan shows how the clinic functioned as an in-patient and out-patient facility.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 00001232, listed October 27, 2000. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 99 Main St., Tarboro |
|---|---|
| County | Edgecombe County |
| Listed | October 27, 2000 |
| Reference number | 00001232 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1946-1975 |
| Architect / builder | unknown |
| Architectural style | Commercial Style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Health/Medicine, Social History, Black |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Owned by the Quigless family, who plan to rent it as office space. The first floor was damaged by Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and contractors were replacing materials in kind. The building is otherwise unaltered apart from new dropped ceilings. The form lists current function as work in progress. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Tarboro Historic District |
| Coordinates | 35.89456, -77.53240 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary: it recognises significance and does not restrict what a private owner may do without federal money or permits. It unlocks the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit for income-producing buildings, state credits in many states, and Section 106 review when federal agencies are involved. See what listing means in practice.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 00001232.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q18706236
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.