In 1925, spouses Nathalie Lyons Gray and Bowman Gray Sr., chairman of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, purchased the 87 acre estate from R. J. Reynolds with the plan of building “the home of their dreams.” The land had formerly been corn fields and pasture for the Reynolda Estate which is now referred to as the Reynolda Historic District. The Grays then employed artisans and craftsmen from all over the United States to build what was one of the largest private homes in North Carolina. The groundbreaking for the mansion took place on January 15, 1928 and as many as 136 people worked on the construction of the estate at one time. The mansion was built in the style of Norman architecture and contained approximately 60 rooms. At the time, it was second to George Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina for the largest private home in North Carolina. The ironwork throughout the property was designed by Joseph Barton Benson, an ironsmith from Philadelphia. Nathalie Gray personally decorated the rooms of Graylyn, and the grounds and gardens were designed by Thomas Warren Sears. The amenities of the house were considered very lavish at the time, and its original telephone system and floodlight system "were at the cutting end of technology for the 1930s."
Later Uses
Nathalie Gray and her sons gifted the estate to the Bowman Gray School of Medicine of in 1946. The estate was used as a psychiatric hospital from 1947 to 1959. Gordon Gray, the son of Nathalie and Bowman Gray, bought the estate back in 1972 and donated it to Wake Forest University. In the following years, the estate was used for multiple purposes including university programs and community service. From 1977 to 1980, Graylyn was used as a dormitory and housed approximately 40 students a year.
Fire and Reconstruction
On June 20, 1980, a fire started in the house during a performance on the lawn by the Winston-Salem Symphony. Nearly 7,000 people watched as the fire extensively damaged the interior of the house. The following day, James R. Scales, the president of Wake Forest University at the time, announced that Graylyn would be rebuilt and restored to its 1932 appearance. The restoration of the mansion and Bernard Cottage was completed in 1984 at a cost of $6,000,000.
Current Uses
Graylyn is currently used as a conference center and contains 85 guest rooms and 15 meeting rooms. Graylyn has 5 separate buildings for guest accommodations, including the Manor House, the Mews, Bernard Cottage, Gardener's Cottage and the Bungalows. Graylyn has multiple dining options offers including the on-site Grille Room and dining served in "elegant dining rooms" in the mansion's interior Graylyn offers a variety of options for "meeting packages," and is used by companies for conferences and team building events.
