Explore the Renfrow Family Story
Grinnell College is dedicating its newest dormitory, “Renfrow Hall,” located at the corner of 6th and Broad to Edith Renfrow Smith, who made history as the first Black woman to graduate from the college on September 28th, 2024. At the age of 110, she was recently inducted into the Iowa African American Hall of Fame.
You can learn more about her life and family on our Renfrow Story page. It includes links to three articles that tell the stories of how members of her family escaped slavery. Learn about her remarkable family members, including the first recorded triplet birth in Iowa, the first Black man to purchase farmland in Poweshiek County, and her siblings who were civil rights leaders.
Over 150 photographs of the family have been digitized and are available for view at Digital Grinnell.