A pioneering African American physician soon will be recognized with a North Carolina Highway Historical Marker. The N.C. Historical Marker Program is part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
The marker commemorating the life and accomplishments of Dr. Milton D. Quigless Sr., will be dedicated March 14 at 11 a.m., at 99 N. Main St., Tarboro, N.C.
Born in Port Gibson, Miss., in 1904 and graduating from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., Quigless moved to Tarboro, N.C., in 1936 to practice medicine. For the next ten years, he treated people in their homes, often with improvised medical equipment. In 1945 he sought financing for a medical clinic, finally receiving a loan from Peoples Bank in Rocky Mount. The Quigless Clinic, also referred to as the Quigless Clinic-Hospital, opened for patients in December 1946. The only hospital for Black patients at that time in Edgecombe and Nash counties, the two-story building served both as a medical clinic and a 25-bed hospital. The hospital and its operating room were furnished with World War II military surplus medical equipment.
Quigless was regarded as a skilled physician, treating skin diseases, arthritis, asthma, weight control, hair loss, and allergies. He also set broken bones, performed appendectomies, and delivered babies. He mixed his own drug recipes in his licensed in-house pharmacy and was known to sometimes adopt unorthodox treatment methods.
Quigless was active in the community and was a charter member of the East Tarboro Citizens League, which sought to organize the city’s Black citizens to improve their lives through political involvement and representation, education, housing, and economic opportunity. He also recruited and mentored many Black doctors who practiced in eastern and central North Carolina and in other states. Quigless was an officer in the state organization of Black doctors, the Old North State Medical Society, first as recording secretary and then as president.
In 1975, Quigless closed his clinic and joined the staff of Edgecombe County General Hospital but continued to see patients in his first-floor office. He continued seeing patients until his death 1997. He was 93.
In 1987, the Rocky Mount chapter of the NAACP presented Quigless with its “Man of the Year” award for distinguished service. From 1996-2003, the equipment from his operating room was displayed at the North Carolina Museum of History as part of its special exhibit “Health and Healing Experiences in North Carolina. The Quigless Clinic building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000 as a place of local historical significance. In 2004, Dr. Quigless was posthumously inducted into the Twin County Hall of Fame, an organization devoted to the history of Edgecombe and Nash Counties in connection with the Rocky Mount Event Center.
For more information about the historical marker, please visit https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2026/02/17/milton-d-quigless-1904-1997-e-135, or call (919) 814-6625.
The Highway Historical Marker Program is a collaboration between the N.C. departments of Natural and Cultural Resources and Transportation.
About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. At more than 100 sites across the state, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency. For more information, please visit www.dncr.nc.gov.