Biddy Mason (August 15, 1818 – January 15, 1891) was an African-American nurse and a Californian real estate entrepreneur and philanthropist.

After a turbulent time as a slave in the south, Mason got her freedom and moved to LA. She worked as a nurse and midwife, delivering hundreds of babies during her career. Using her knowledge of herbal remedies, she risked her life to care for those affected by the smallpox epidemic in Los Angeles.

Saving carefully, she was one of the first African American women to own land in Los Angeles. As a businesswoman, she amassed a relatively large fortune of nearly $300,000, which she shared generously with charities.

Mason also fed and sheltered the poor, and visited prisoners. She was instrumental in founding a traveler’s aid center, and a school and daycare center for black children, open to any child who had nowhere else to go. Because of her kind and giving spirit, many called her “Auntie Mason” or “Grandma Mason.

In 1872, along with her son-in-law Charles Owens, Biddy Mason was a founding member of First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles, marking it the city’s first black church.

The organizing meetings were held in her home on Spring Street.  She donated the land on which the church was built.