Pennsylvania Historical Markers in Perry County

Dr. Elizabeth Reifsnyder

DR. REIFSNYDER

Dr. Elizabeth Reifsnyder, M.D., a pioneer medical missionary to China for more than thirty years, lived in the house both before and after her work abroad. Born 1858, she died here in 1922.

US 11 and 15 in Liverpool. Erected July 30, 1947.

Dr. Elizabeth Reifsnyder was born in Liverpool on January 17, 1858. She attended the Millersville State Normal School and also graduated from the Woman’s Medical College in Philadelphia in 1881. She then left for China in 1883 on the trip that would make her famous for healthcare and humanitarian efforts. While she was in China, she drew the plans for and opened the first hospital in China. It was known as the Margaret Williamson Hospital. She had the honor of having some very elite members of the Chinese Government. For example, Mrs. Wu Ting Fang, the wife of the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S., was one of her patients. On the 25^th anniversary of the hospital, it was said that over 800,000 patients had been treated there.

In 1914, she left China to come back to Liverpool for a visit. Unfortunately she never returned to China due to ill health. When she died, she left a large sum of money that was used to build the first maternity building in China. It was named the Elizabeth Reifsnyder Hospital. Dr. Elizabeth Reifsnyder died on February 3, 1922.

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