Reynolda Volunteers on the Town, Part One
by Sandy Carter
March 18, 2026
On January 6, 2026, a large group of Reynolda volunteers crossed the road to visit the neighbors! We enjoyed a field trip to Graylyn Estate, where we were treated to a wonderful tour full of information that is sure to add depth to our own tour-giving experiences at Reynolda, both in the house and in the gardens. As a fairly new docent, I understood that there was a connection between Reynolda and Graylyn, but I never fully understood what it was. I am now happy to share some newly garnered information…just in case you share my earlier befuddlement! For those well-versed in the R.J. Reynolds/Bowman Gray connection, perhaps you might enjoy a trip down memory lane.
Bowman Gray was the son of James Gray, a co-founder of Wachovia Bank. After attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for a year, he returned to “Winston,” as the city was known, to work as a clerk at Wachovia. He came to the attention of Mr. R.J. Reynolds, who offered him a position as a salesman for the Reynolds Tobacco Company. I find it striking that Mr. Reynolds offered him the same first step on a path he himself had once taken—working as a salesman for his father’s tobacco business before eventually building his own company. Eventually, Mr. Gray was chosen by R.J. himself to head the finance division. In 1924, the same year that Mrs. Katherine Reynolds Johnston died, Bowman Gray succeeded William Reynolds as president of the tobacco company.
Mr. Gray married Miss Nathalie Lyons, of Baltimore, Maryland, in 1902. In 1925, they purchased 87 acres of sheep grazing land from Reynolda …right across Reynolda Road from the Reynolds family estate. They broke ground in 1927 for the construction of Nathalie Gray’s Norman Revival vision. As was Ms. Katherine, Ms. Nathalie was very particular in her choices for her home, even purchasing an entire room (wood paneling and all) in France to be delivered to North Carolina and installed, complete, in Graylyn. Another stunning, not-to-be-missed location is the “card room” covered in Islamic art wall panels from the 1400s! Yet another Graylyn connection to Reynolda is the landscape designer for both, Thomas Sears.
When the Manor House was completed in 1932, and the Gray family moved in, it was the second-largest home in North Carolina. Can you guess which was the largest?
The Biltmore, but of course!
Reynolda and Graylyn share the sad fact that neither head of household lived in their beautiful homes for very long. We know Mr. Reynolds passed away approximately seven months after the completion of the Reynolda bungalow. Unfortunately, Mr. Gray passed away only two and a half years after the completion of the Graylyn Manor House. As with Mary Reynolds Babcock and her family, Bowman and Nathalie’s sons and their families took up residence on the estate. Mrs. Gray remarried three years after her first husband’s death, as did Katherine Reynolds. Both families were generously philanthropic and contributed tremendously to the life of Winston-Salem.
Arguably, their greatest combined legacy is Wake Forest College, now University. In 1946, Mrs. Gray and her sons gave the estate to the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest. As we know, in the late 1940s, Charles Babcock and Mary Reynolds Babcock donated 350 acres of Reynolda Estate to entice the college to relocate to Winston-Salem, which it did in 1946.
Although the two houses share much unifying history, they differ significantly in style and in their later iterations as landmarks in our town. Since 1967, Reynolda House Museum of American Art has enjoyed life as a beautiful museum. Since 1984, after an extensive renovation following a devastating fire, Graylyn Estate has served as a beautiful hotel and conference center. Another important distinction: yes, you can touch the furniture at Graylyn!
As many of us know, a brisk walk or gentle stroll around Reynolda’s glorious grounds is not really complete until you’ve pushed the big button to cross the road. Once safely across, you will find yourself in yet another, earlier, chapter of the Reynolda story: the sheep fields. On a day promising Spring, wander through the gates of Graylyn and past the magnificent, turreted Manor House, past the swimming pool, and down to the Mews, a Normandy-style farm complex. What a treat for the senses! I know when I have the opportunity to share the wonderful art and story of Reynolda House with guests, I’ll be sure to encourage them to go visit the neighbors!