THE R. J. REYNOLDS FAMILY – CHAPTER 6 KATHARINE SMITH REYNOLDS’ LEGACY

Katharine had declared, when she was 16, that she would one day have an estate. She began to bring that vision to life shortly after her marriage. In 12 years, she built just outside Winston, a 1,067-acre estate that she called “Reynolda.” It had forests, pastures, gardens, a lake, a working farm, a golf course, tennis courts, and a colonial revival residence. But most remarkable was a self-sustaining village to serve her in her country setting. She created all this before she was 33 years old. (Reynolda is the subject of Chapter 7)

Katharine was generous to all her employees, providing exceptional living conditions by the day’s standard. Employees held deep gratitude for her kindness. She offered generous pay for outstanding work in clearly defined roles. She upheld a conservative framework that maintained traditional social divisions across sex, race, and class. One's skin color, gender, and social rank, not just aptitude and ambition, determined occupation and status. She remained largely unaware of the social and economic disempowerment of Black men and women in the South.

As the leading lady citizen and businesswoman of Winston-Salem and North Carolina, Katharine actively supported many charities and progressive causes. These included new methods of farming and a better life for rural families, better schools and hospitals, and Women’s Rights. Her work promoted benevolence and organizations for both Black people and whites.

RJR’s death in 1918 burdened Katharine. However, she soon pursued her own interests more actively, keeping her public and private responsibilities.

In the year after RJR's death, Katharine hired J. Edward Johnston, a handsome World War I veteran, as superintendent of her Reynolda School. Johnston had attended Davidson College and served as a lieutenant in the First Division during the war. He was 13 years Katharine’s junior.

By the fall of 1920, Katharine and Johnston were devoted to each other and secretly planned their wedding. On June 11, 1921, Katharine and Edward married in her Reynolda Presbyterian church.

Katharine was very much in love, and she never seemed to consider that Johnson could have been interested in her wealth. Regardless, the children did not readily accept their stepfather. 9-year-old Mary wrote in her diary after the wedding, “Mother was married to Mr. Johnston. The affair was very quiet. Smith was ring bearer, and Nancy and myself were flower girls. We are trying to keep it quiet, but about the [whole] town knows it.” 15-year-old Son Richard (Dick) was openly resentful.

They honeymooned in Europe, touring historic sites. Katharine and Edward returned to Reynolda, where he began working at Wachovia Bank. Despite their wealth and influence, their lives were surprisingly conventional. Katharine struggled for influence within Reynolds Tobacco, but management excluded her.

Katharine decided herself to have more children. Edward supported her but was concerned about her health. On May 20, 1924, she gave birth to her last child, J. Edward Johnston Jr., and died three days later of an embolism after a difficult pregnancy.

She left behind a broken family. Edward Johnson eventually moved to Baltimore with his son. The four children were left orphaned at ages 11-18. Not expecting to die so young, Katharine had made inadequate plans for their care. This would soon lead to great troubles.

Katharine and RJR’s wealth and power reshaped the lives of those around them. She influenced Reynolds Tobacco Company without holding a formal office or board position. She contributed to Winston-Salem by donating a $750,000 (C$12 million) memorial auditorium in honor of RJR and land for a new public high school. She wanted Winston-Salem to offer the best school education in the South.

Her Reynolda estate influenced Winston-Salem’s wealthiest families for 20 years. In 1921, brother-in-law Will built Tanglewood, an 1,100-acre estate along the Yadkin River. Nearby, on a hill overlooking the river, Robert Lasater, a Reynolds relative and company executive, built Forest Hills Farm, a 12,000 square-foot stone Georgian revival house. Nathalie Gray, wife of Bowman Gray Sr., built a Norman revival home across from, and even larger than, Reynolda.

When Katharine died in 1923, her fortune, inherited at RJR’s death, had more than doubled in just 5 years to $35 million (C$638 million). Camel cigarette had hit its stride, and the Reynolds stock was paying mountains of cash in dividends.

Sadly, Katharine made a fundamental mistake: She confused her children’s financial health with their emotional wellbeing. They now found themselves living in a 64 room home with a small army of servants and virtually unsupervised. This would have tragic consequences.