Graylyn Estate Collection

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Biographical and Historical Note

The original Graylyn Estate was the home of Bowman Gray, Sr. (1874-1935) and Nathalie Lyons Gray (1884-1961). Bowman Gray, a son of the founder of Wachovia Bank and Trust Co., started work as a salesperson for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and by the time the home was built had risen to Chairman of the Board. Captains of Industry in the 1920s were leaving their homes in the downtowns of America and heading to the nearby countryside to build even grander estates. In 1925 Nathalie Lyons Gray led the exodus by purchasing eighty-seven acres of pasture land and cornfields and set out to build her dream home. Construction began on July 1, 1927, on a garage that was converted to a guest cottage and temporary home for the Grays during building. Groundbreaking for the new house was January 15, 1928- their son Bowman Jr's twenty-first birthday. As many as 136 people worked on construction of the estate at one time. The Grays moved into the completed house in 1932. By now both sons were recent graduates of the University of North Carolina. Bowman Jr. was beginning a career at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco and younger brother Gordon was a student at Yale Law School. With nearly 60 rooms and 46,00 square feet, Graylyn had become one of the largest private homes in North Carolina. In 1935, Bowman Gary, Sr. died on shipboard in the North Atlantic Ocean while vacationing with his family- just three years after completing their home. In 1946 Mrs. Gray and her sons gave the estate to the Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University. The site served as an academic psychiatric hospital facility until 1959. In the 1950 Gordon Gray was installed as president of the University of North Carolina system. Mrs. Nathalie Gray Bernard, who had been living in Bernard Cottage, a guest residence on the estate, died in 1961. Gordon Gray was appointed to the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board by President John F. Kennedy in the same year. In 1972, Gordon Grey purchased Graylyn Estate back from the Medical School and, on the same day, donated it to Wake Forest University. Through the coming years the estate had many uses, but mainly housed university programs and served the community. On June 22, 1980, a fire ignited on the third floor of th Manor House during a performance on the lawn by the Winston-Salem Symphony. An audience of 7,000 watched as the top floors of the unoccupied house burned. On the following day, the president of Wake Forest University announced that the home would be restored to its original 1932 condition and be used as an educational conference center. Thomas Alexander Gray was the preservation consultant for the restoration. On January 1, 1984, the restoration led by architect Edwin Bouldin, Jr. was completed. The house, once valued as much as $1,600,000 in 1930, was now valued at over $15,000,000. Wake Forest University maintained ownership of Graylyn throughout the nineties, but the conference center was managed by Marriott Management Services until December 18, 1993. In 1993, Graylyn became an international Conference Center and began hosting individuals and organizations from all over the world including former presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush, Sr. Other dignitaries include 13 international delegations. On July 1, 2001, Wake Forest University assumed management responsibilities and made an enormous commitment to the overall improvement of Graylyn. Since then, the entire property has undergone extensive operational, technological, and cosmetic renovations. All information from graylyn.com

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Collection Overview

The records consist of architectural plans and drawings, financial and legal documents, a thesis, research files, and photographs, chiefly compiled and collected by Thomas A. Gray, relating to the Gray family property in Winston-Salem, NC. Included are correspondence and other materials on architects Luther D. Lashmit, Northup & O'Brien, and landscape architect Thomas W. Sears; and vendor's correspondence, 1927-1930. There are also cassette interviews with family members and preservationists and others for Julia C. Parke's thesis on Gordon Gray.

Gift from Thomas W. Gray, Winston-Salem, N.C., August 16, 1984 and Jane Carmichael, Winston-Salem, N.C., July 18, 1984.

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Collection Inventory

• Architects' Plans & Drawings
  • Reynolda Area Plans
    • Area plans drawn in April, 1922 / Box 1 Folder 1
    • Area plans drawn in February, 1925 / Box 1 Folder 2
  • Graylyn Estate Preliminary Sketches
    • Area plan drawn in February, 1928 / Box 1 Folder 3
  • Graylyn Estate Landscape Drawings & Planting Plans
    • Bath House (Sears), 8 October, 1927 and n.d. / Box 1 Folder 4
    • Entrances
      • Main Entrance (Sears), 12 July 1927 & 24 November 1927 / Box 1 Folder 5
      • Paved Entrance (Sears), 24 October 1929 / Box 1 Folder 6
      • East Entrance (Sears), 20 January 1927 / Box 1 Folder 7
      • West Entrance (Sears), 20 January 1927 / Box 1 Folder 8
    • Farm Group (Sears), 25 January 1927 / Box 1 Folder 9
    • Gardens (Sears), 27 December 1927 and n.d. / Box 1 Folder 10
    • General Plans (Sears), 10 December 1928 / Box 1 Folder 11
    • Green House (Sears), n.d. / Box 1 Folder 12
    • Pool
      • Plan (Sears), 11 July 1927 / Box 1 Folder 13
      • Plan (Sears), 9 May 1927 / Box 1 Folder 13
      • Plan (Sears), 9 May 1927 / Box 1 Folder 13
      • Plan (Sears), 27 July 1927 / Box 1 Folder 14
    • Revision (Sears), 1 July 1941 / Box 1 Folder 15
    • Mrs. Follin's Drive (Sears), 20 July 1929 / Box 1 Folder 16
  • Graylyn Estate Site Plans
    • Building "A" (numbered) / Box 1 Folder 17
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 1 (Northup & O'Brien), 27 June 1929 / Box 1 Folder 17
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 2 (Northup & O'Brien), 27 June 1929 / Box 1 Folder 17
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 3 (Northup & O'Brien), 1 July 1929 / Box 1 Folder 17
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 4 (Northup & O'Brien), 27 June 1929 / Box 1 Folder 17
    • Building "B" (numbered) / Box 1 Folder 18
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 101 (N & O), 17 July 1929 / Box 1 Folder 18
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 102 (N & O), 17 July 1929 / Box 1 Folder 18
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 103 (N & O), 17 July 1929 / Box 1 Folder 18
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 104 (N & O), 17 July 1929 / Box 1 Folder 18
    • Building "C" (numbered)
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 201 (N & O), 27 September 1929 / Box 1 Folder 19
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 202 (N & O), 27 September 1929 / Box 1 Folder 19
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 203 (N & O), 27 September 1929 / Box 1 Folder 19
      • Plan--n.d., unsigned / Box 1 Folder 20
      • Plan (N & O), 23 November 1929 / Box 1 Folder 20
    • Farm Group (numbered)
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 1A (N & O), n.d. / Box 1 Folder 21
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 1 (Northup & O'Brien), 29 June 1929 / Box 1 Folder 22
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 2 (N & O), 27 July 1929 / Box 1 Folder 22
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 3 (N & O), 29 June 1929 / Box 1 Folder 22
    • Gate (numbered)
      • No. A (Benson Smithery), n.d. / Box 1 Folder 23
      • No. B (Benson Smithery), n.d. / Box 1 Folder 24
      • No. C (Benson Smithery) / Box 1 Folder 25
    • Guest House (numbered)
      • No. 1074, Sheet No. 1 (N & O), n.d. / Box 1 Folder 26
      • No. 1074, Sheet No. 2 (N & O), n.d. / Box 1 Folder 26
      • No. 1074, Sheet No. 3 (N & O), n.d. / Box 1 Folder 26
    • Additions to Guest House
      • Plan (Lashmit, James, Brown, & Pollock), 29 August 1959 / Box 1 Folder 27
      • Plan (James), 26 January 1962 / Box 1 Folder 27
    • Kennels
      • No. 1069, Sheet No. 301 (N & O), 16 September 1929 / Box 1 Folder 28
      • No. H-301 (N & O), 12 November 1929 / Box 1 Folder 28
      • Plan for heating (N & O), 12 November 1929 / Box 1 Folder 28
    • Palm house (numbered)
      • No. 2260, Sheet No. 1 (Lord & Burnham), 17 November 1929 / Box 1 Folder 29
      • No. 2260, Sheet No. 2 (L & B), 19 November 1928 / Box 1 Folder 29
      • No. 2260, Sheet No. 3 (L & B), 21 December 1928 / Box 1 Folder 29
      • No. 2260, Sheet No. 4 (L & B), n.d. / Box 1 Folder 29
      • No. 2260-2 (L & B), 4 January 1927 / Box 1 Folder 30
      • Plan for Range of Glass (L & B), 14 January 1928 / Box 1 Folder 30
    • Tool Shed
      • Plan for Mrs. Bernard's Tool Shed, 17 October 1941 / Box 1 Folder 31
  • Graylyn-Main House (Architect's Plans)
    • Cross Section through Main House
      • No. 991, Drawing No. 9 (Dyson & Hayes), 6 December 1927 / Box 1 Folder 32
      • No. 991, Drawing No. 105 (D & H), 6 December 1927 / Box 1 Folder 33
    • Detail of Sunroom, Reception Rooms, Halls, & Bathrooms
      • No. 991, Drawing No. 1 (N & O), 12 April 1928 / Box 1 Folder 34
      • No. 991, Drawing No. 13 (N & O), 12 April 1928 / Box 1 Folder 34
    • Detail of Swimming Pool, Dressing Rooms, & Kitchen
      • No. 991, Drawing No. 12 (Lashmit), 6 December 1927 / Box 1 Folder 35
    • Detail of Terrace, Walls, Steps, Pool. etc.
      • Plan (Sears), 11 July 1928 / Box 1 Folder 36
    • Elevations
      • Side elevations: No. 991, Sheet No. 7 (N & O), 12 April 1928 / Box 2 Folder 37
      • No. 993, Sheet No. 1 (LeLoi & Lashmit), April 1927 / Box 2 Folder 38
    • Electrical Drawings (numbered)
      • No. 991, Drawing No. 200 (Northup & O'Brien), June 1928 / Box 2 Folder 39
      • No. 991, Drawing No. 202 (N & O), 21 March 1929 / Box 2 Folder 40
      • No. 991, Drawing No. 201 (N & O), 8 June 1928 / Box 2 Folder 40
    • Floor Plans (numbered)
      • No. 991, Drawing No. 102 / Box 2 Folder 41
      • No. 991, Drawing No. 103 / Box 2 Folder 41
      • No. 991, Drawing No. 104 / Box 2 Folder 42
    • Heating and Swimming Pool Equipment
      • No. H-3 (Wiley & Wilson) / Box 2 Folder 43
    • Structure Plans for Footings
      • No. 991, Drawing No. 100 / Box 2 Folder 44
      • No. 991, Drawing No. 101 / Box 2 Folder 44
    • Water Tank Plans-H-2710 (Reynolda, Inc.), 19 December 1929 / Box 2 Folder 45
    • Graylyn - Main House - Additions
      • First & Second Floor Plans (Southwell), 4 January 1939 / Box 2 Folder 46
    • Additions by Bowman Gray Institute of Medical Research (N & O), 21 January 1958 / Box 2 Folder 47
    • Steel Layouts for Graylyn (N & O), 7 March 1951 / Box 2 Folder 48
    • Floor Plans and Elevations for Graylyn Addition
      • No. X-6, January 1951 / Box 2 Folder 49
      • No. Y-2, February 1951 / Box 2 Folder 49
    • Additions to Bowman Gray Institute of Medical Research (N & O), 21 January 1958 / Box 2 Folder 50
  • Roaring Gap House - Summer Home of Mrs. B. Bernard
    • Alterations to Roaring Gap House, Fall of 1954 / Box 2 Folder 51
• Financial and Legal Documents
  • Years 1927 - 1928 / Box 2 Folder 52
  • Years 1929 - 1930 / Box 2 Folder 53
  • Years 1931 - 1936 / Box 2 Folder 54
  • Report of Examination on Graylyn by Ernst & Ernst, Accountants / Box 2 Folder 55
  • Cost Figures for Graylyn Estate / Box 2 Folder 56
  • Payroll, 1939 - 1940 / Box 2 Folder 57
  • Record of Deeds - Bill of Sale on October 29, 1926 / Box 2 Folder 58
• Historical Files
  • Family Crest of Sarenz-De Santa Maria Family for Mr. Bernard / Box 2 Folder 59
  • Graylyn Booklet - The Department of Psychiatry & Neurology of the Bowman Gray School of Medicine / Box 2 Folder 60
  • Clippings (History) / Box 2 Folder 61
  • Clippings (Preservation) / Box 2 Folder 62
  • Clippings, 1968-1969 / Box 2 Folder 63
  • Clippings, 1971-1972 / Box 2 Folder 64
  • Clippings, 1973-1974 / Box 2 Folder 65
  • Clippings, 1976-1977 / Box 2 Folder 66
  • Clippings (Fire), 22 June 1980 / Box 2 Folder 67
  • Clippings (Conference Center Proposal), 1980 / Box 2 Folder 68
  • Appointment Book of Gray Family, 1940-1947 / Box 2 Folder 69
  • Diary of Gray Family / Box 2 Folder 69
  • Mrs. Bowman Gray's papers concerning the east entrance, flower garden, garage, swimming pool, and vegetable garden / Box 2 Folder 70
  • Graylyn Furnishings / Box 2 Folder 71
  • Mrs. Bernard's Partial Inventory / Box 2 Folder 72
  • Mrs. Bernard's Inventory, September 1939 / Box 2 Folder 73
  • Telephone Directory of Graylyn / Box 2 Folder 74
  • Shipping Receipts of Mrs. Bernard, n.d. / Box 2 Folder 75
• Pictorial Materials
  • Exterior Photographs (Binder) / Box 2 Folder 76
  • Exterior Photographs / Box 2 Folder 77
  • Interior Photographs (Binder) / Box 2 Folder 78
  • Interior Photographs / Box 2 Folder 79
  • Landscape Photographs (Binder) / Box 2 Folder 80
  • Landscape Photographs / Box 2 Folder 81
  • Original Photographs (Binder) / Box 2 Folder 82
  • Original Photographs of Iron Work by Benson / Box 2 Folder 83
  • Photograph of the Kingsholm / Box 2 Folder 84
  • Photographs of Tile and Ironwork (Binder) / Box 2 Folder 85
  • Photographs of Tile and Ironwork / Box 3 Folder 86
  • Photographs of Fire, 22 June 1980 / Box 3 Folder 87
• Research Materials of Tom Gray
  • J. Barton Benson, 1973 / Box 3 Folder 88
  • Dr. Merril G. Berthrong, 1975 / Box 3 Folder 89
  • Enfield Pottery & Iron Works, 1970-1972 / Box 3 Folder 90
  • Gordon Gray, 1971-1974 / Box 3 Folder 91
  • A. C. Grafflin, 1973-1974 / Box 3 Folder 92
  • Initial Interviews, 1973 / Box 3 Folder 93
  • Luther D. Lashmit, 1974 / Box 3 Folder 94
  • Thomas Sears, 1973 / Box 3 Folder 95
  • Miscellaneous Historical Materials / Box 3 Folder 96
  • Thomas Gray's Thesis: Graylyn, a Normal Revival Estate in North Carolina / Box 3 Folder 97
• Oversized Materials
  • General Plan of the Nathalie Gray Estate, September 1929, by C.E. Ellerbe / Box 3 Folder 98
  • "Architecture and Design", Vol V, No 21, September 1941 by Sears / Box 3 Folder 99
  • "Architecture and Design", Vol XVII, November 1953 by Sears / Box 3 Folder 100
  • An American Country Home, by Alexander Meigs / Box 3 Folder 101
  • French Farm Houses, Small Chateaux, and Country Churches, by Antonio Di Nerdo / Box 3 Folder 102
• Articles
  • "The Story of Graylyn" by Jane A. Carmichael, final draft, 18 July 1984 / Box 3 Folder 103
  • NORTH CAROLINA ARCHITECT, March-April, 1984. Cover photograph of entrance in color and an article, "Rebirth of the Graylyn Estate" by Whitney Shaw, pp. 4-13. / Box 3 Folder 104
  • HISTORIC PRESERVATION, September-October, 1983. "The Quiet Power of Gordon Gray" by John Greenya, pp. 26-29 / Box 3 Folder 105
  • THE INDEPENDENT, Rural Hall, NC, 10 June 1982. "Rural Hall Man Recalls 19 Hard-working but Happy Years at Graylyn" by Debbie Dunn. [Interview with photographs of Louie D. Baker] / Box 3 Folder 106
• Vendors File
  • Audiffren Refrigerator Machine Co., 1929 / Box 3 Folder 107
  • A. B. See Elevator Co., 1929 / Box 3 Folder 108
  • Briar Hill Stone Co., 1929 / Box 3 Folder 109
  • B. Ridgeway and Son, 1930 / Box 3 Folder 110
  • Carolina Steel & Iron Co., 1929 / Box 3 Folder 111
  • Charles Hess, 1930 / Box 3 Folder 112
  • Concrete Steel Co., 1928 / Box 3 Folder 113
  • Construction records, 1938-on / Box 3 Folder 114
  • Endsield Pottery and Tile Works, Ewsley, Sloan and American Tile, 1930 / Box 3 Folder 115
  • Garage construction - daily reports, 1928 / Box 3 Folder 116
  • Garage construction - daily reports, 1928 / Box 3 Folder 117
  • Graylyn accident reports, 1929 / Box 3 Folder 118
  • Hilgartner Marble Co., 1929 / Box 3 Folder 119
  • International Casement Co., 1929 / Box 3 Folder 120
  • Jacobson & Co., 1930 / Box 3 Folder 121
  • Janes & Kirtland, Inc., 1929 / Box 3 Folder 122
  • Jewett Refrigerator Co., 1929 / Box 3 Folder 123
  • John D. Emock Co., 1929 / Box 3 Folder 124
  • J. Barton Benson, 1929 / Box 3 Folder 125
  • J. G. Valiant Co., 1928 / Box 3 Folder 126
  • Langenbacher Co., 1929 / Box 4 Folder 127
  • Lord and Burnham Co., 1929 / Box 4 Folder 128
  • Meyer-Sniffen Co., 1929 / Box 4 Folder 129
  • Murta, Appleton & Co., 1929 / Box 4 Folder 130
  • North Eastern Construction Co. - Invoices, 1930 / Box 4 Folder 131
  • North Eastern Construction Co. - Invoices, 1929 / Box 4 Folder 132
  • North Eastern Construction Co. - Invoices, 1929 / Box 4 Folder 133
  • Railway Slips, No. 1, 1929 / Box 4 Folder 134
  • Railway Slips, No. 2, 1928 / Box 4 Folder 135
  • Railway Slips, No. 3, 1929 / Box 4 Folder 136
  • Roddis Lumber & Veneer Co., 1929 / Box 4 Folder 137
  • Snow Lumber Co., 1929 / Box 4 Folder 138
  • Thomas W. Sears, 1929 / Box 4 Folder 139
  • Todhunter, Inc., 1929 / Box 4 Folder 140
  • Vantor State Co., 1930 / Box 4 Folder 141
  • Vitaglass Co., 1930 / Box 4 Folder 142
  • Wiley & Wilson Consulting Engineers, 1928 / Box 4 Folder 143
  • Wyoming Cut-Stone Co., 1928 / Box 4 Folder 144

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Summary Information

Repository

Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives

Title

Graylyn Estate Collection

ID

MS176

Date [bulk]

Bulk, 1927-1930

Date [inclusive]

1922-1984

Extent

8.0 linear feet 3 banker's boxes, 3 letter boxes, 2 oversized boxes

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives

Conditions Governing Acess

The collection is open for research. 

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gifts from Thomas A. Gray, Winston-Salem, NC, August 16, 1984, May 13, 1985, April 3, 1992 (collected during his thesis research); Jane Carmichael, July 18, 1984; purchase February 16, 1995; Julia Parke, May 31, 1991. 

Preferred Citation

Graylyn Estate Collection, MS176, Z. Smith Reynolds Library Special Collections and Archives, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA. 

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