Katharine Smith Reynolds
| Katharine Smith Reynolds | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | November 17, 1880 |
| Died | May 23, 1924 |
| Alma mater | Sullins College |
| Known for | Reynolda House |
| Spouse(s) |
R. J. Reynolds (m. 1905–18) J. Edward Johnston (m. 1921-1924) |
| Children |
R.J. Reynolds Jr. (1906-1964) Mary Reynolds Babcock (1908-1953) Nancy Susan Reynolds (1910-1985) Zachary Smith Reynolds (1911-1932) J. Edward Johnston Jr. (1924-2005) |
Katharine Smith Reynolds was a philanthropist, known for helping to design and build Reynolda House.
Katharine Smith was born in Mount Airy, North Carolina. Katharine was the oldest of six children of a prosperous local businessman, Zachary T. Smith and his wife, Mary Susan Jackson. Katharine was well educated and attended the State Normal and Industrial School, now known as the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, in the fall of 1897. After a typhoid epidemic broke out 1899, Katharine transferred to Sullins College in Bristol, Virginia where she graduated in 1902. After returning home from graduation, Katharine worked for R. J. Reynolds, her first cousin once removed, as a secretary at The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The two eventually married in 1905.
Reynolda House, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was the home of Katharine and R.J. Reynolds. Involved in both the design and construction, Katharine envisioned a progressive, self sustaining country farm and estate built upon the selected 1,000 acre land outside of Winston-Salem. Katharine hired landscape engineers Buckenham and Miller to draw up the master plan, renowned architect Charles Barton Keen of Philadelphia to design the central house or bungalow, and Thomas Sears to plan the gardens. Construction took eight years and when the Reynolds family moved in December 1917, Reynolda was home to a farm complete with the latest in technology and agricultural practices, a dairy, recreational facilities, and a school. After Katharine died in 1924, the estate was held in trust until 1934 when Mary, Katharine and R.J's daughter, and husband Charles Babcock Sr, acquired Reynolda House. They worked to modernize the estate and eventually donated much of the land until a museum was opened in 1967.
As a woman of privilege and wealth, she sought social progress and progressive reform, as evidenced in her push for reforms in the tobacco factory. These included amenities such as hot lunches and water fountains to a nursery for working women. In addition, she was an active member of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) which provided educational and recreational opportunities for young working women, and served as President of the local Winston-Salem chapter in 1917. During World War I, through the R.J Reynolds tobacco company, she made monetary contributions to the Red Cross to aid in shelter,food, and supplies overseas as well as formed a local chapter with several other prominent women. She was also active in the American Fund for the French Wounded, donating supplies and money and reviewing monthly reports and balance sheets for the organization as well as the Woman's Committee, serving as state chairman for a sub-organization of this war time committee. Outside of her extensive organizational donations, she donated to many religious causes, helping build churches and supporting missionary activities and programs.
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