The Renfrow Story

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF AN INCREDIBLE LIFE

Born in Grinnell, Iowa, two weeks before the start of World War I, Edith Renfrow Smith was the fifth of six children born to one of the few Black families in the area. She is the granddaughter of slaves, one of whom travelled through Grinnell in 1859 with John Brown as he escaped via the Underground Railroad. Her parents, most especially her mother, inspired all of their children to get an education. Remarkably, all six of the Renfrow children went to college. Edith choose to attend Grinnell College and became the first Black woman to graduate from the school in 1937. Although she spent most of her adult life in Chicago, she has always considered Grinnell to be home, returning frequently to visit family and friends and maintaining close ties to the community and college.

You can learn more about her life on Grinnell’s Drake Community Library Local History page.

honored by her alma maters

In 2022, Grinnell College announced they would name the residence hall in their new Community Engagement Quad in honor of Mrs. Renfrow Smith. Renfrow Hall will open in the fall of 2024 on the block that sits between campus and downtown Grinnell. This was not the only honor given to her by her Grinnell alma maters. She was also given an honorary degree from Grinnell College in 2019 and was named a member of the Grinnell High School Alumni Hall of Fame in 2022.