Dr. Watson H. Matthews founded Ebenezer Animal Clinic in 1946 after graduating from Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine. He moved back to the township of Ebenezer and started his practice from his family's home (actually in his back yard chicken house). At that time, his patients were mainly horses, cattle, and hogs on the farm with an occasional dog coming to his clinic for a vaccine. In 1948, he built the brick Ebenezer Animal Clinic building. That building stood as a Rock Hill landmark on the corner of Ebenezer Road and Herlong Avenue for the next 52 years.
     In 1968, Dr. Matthews stopped going on farm calls because of an injury. He started to emphasize companion animals, although he would see any farm animals delivered to the clinic. Appointments were not needed.  In 1976, he hired his first associate, Dr. Billy Lazenby. After a few years, Dr. Lazenby built his own facility in Fort Lawn and moved there to start his own practice.  The next associate was Dr. Roger Ross, hired in 1984. The following year, Dr. Ross moved on.
     Dr. Lorin D. Lawrence was practicing in Lake Wylie at Bethel Animal Clinic in 1985 when he was hired by Dr. Matthews. An agreement was established that Dr. Lawrence was to work until 1990 and then purchase the clinic, allowing Dr. Matthews to retire. The next year on August 25, 1986, tragedy struck. Dr. Matthews suffered a massive heart attack and passed away the next day. Rock Hill lost one of its finest citizens that day.
     The "walk-in" style of practice continued. Dr. Lawrence hired a retired veterinarian, Dr. John Risser, to work on Wednesdays, thereby preventing insanity! In 1990, the first of two remodeling projects was completed. The surgery room, previously used as a second exam room, was moved into a much larger room. This greatly enhanced the surgical quality and productivity, because a second table and new equipment were brought in. 
     That year, Dr. Lawrence hired his first full time associate, Dr. Virginia Brown. She brought exotic animal expertise and expanded that end of the business. In 1992, Ebenezer Animal Clinic joined the ranks of most other animal clinics, by remodeling to create a reception desk. Dr. Brown helped grow the practice until departing in 1994 to work near her hometown. The next associate was Dr. Ellen Buechler, a native of Louisville, Kentucky.  Dr. R. Kyle Faust joined the practice in 1995 as the third associate, hired to expand the hours of service into the evenings two nights per week as well as help with the ever increasing caseload. 
      Another stoke of good fortune (or so it seemed) also occurred in 1995. A real estate broker approached Dr. Lawrence about the possibility of his leaving the Ebenezer Road location before the lease was up in 1999. The broker's client, the Boston Market chain, wanted to build a restaurant at the clinic site. Dr. Lawrence, eager to build a larger facility, agreed to quickly vacate the old clinic six months after the city approved the zoning variances for the restaurant. An architect was hired (John Watson of Atkinson, Dyer, Watson in Charlotte) and plans developed. Negotiations between Boston Market and the city lasted almost a year. Suddenly in 1996, without warning, Boston Market dropped their plans and left Rock Hill. By then the new Ebenezer Animal Hospital had been designed and the land cleared. Unfortunately, Dr. Buechler moved to Charlotte that year too making it a year Dr. Lawrence wanted to forget!
     Dr. Lawrence and Dr. Faust practiced together for a year before Dr. David Cole came along in 1997. Determined to build that dream hospital and encouraged by his wife Leslie, Dr. Lawrence initiated the construction on October 14, 1997. The current building was completed on June 22, 1998. The Grand Opening was the first week in July. Despite the 100 degree heat, over 150 people came to get the grand tour. The staff members were happy to take folks around because of the pride they had in Rock Hill's largest and most state-of-the-art veterinary facility.
     Dr. Cole moved to his hometown of Charlotte, NC in 1998. Drs. Lawrence and Faust handled the deluge of patients as best they could, but service was suffering. So in September, for the first time in Ebenezer Animal Clinic history, an appointment system was put in place.
     New life was given to the exotic and nutritional side of the practice with the arrival of Dr. Michael Kolatis in 1999. The practice is thriving to this day because of the hard work, dedication, and compassion of the doctors of Ebenezer Animal Hospital.
      Sadly, the old clinic building on Ebenezer and Herlong was torn down in March, 2000. Despite its demise, there are many fond memories for both the men and women who worked there and the residents of York County that frequented that Rock Hill landmark.