R.J. Reynolds

Katharine Reynolds' philanthropy

R. J. Reynolds and his family played a large part in the public life and history of the city of Winston-Salem. After his death, his widow Katharine Smith Reynolds continued his philanthropic activities. She contributed land and funds to establish The Richard J. Reynolds High School and the R. J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium (both listed in the National Register of Historic Places). Construction of the school and auditorium began in 1919 under the direction of architect Charles Barton Keen, and finished in 1924. Another memorial to Reynolds, an equine statue, sits on Winston-Salem City Hall Grounds in downtown Winston-Salem. A memorial to Katharine Reynolds, a 20-foot-tall obelisk, now sits on the grounds of the Richard J. Reynolds High School and R.J. Reynolds Memorial Auditorium (it was originally placed on a site in Reynolda Village, around Reynolda Church, but was rescued from demolition and moved to the site on the school grounds).