03/05/2026
For Women’s History Month, we honor Grace Evelyn Arents — a quiet force who transformed Richmond through faith, education, housing, and public health.
Born in New York City in 1848, Arents moved to Richmond and became the favored niece and heir of to***co magnate Lewis Ginter. But rather than live publicly in wealth, she chose a life of private generosity — often giving anonymously and avoiding public recognition.
In Oregon Hill, she adopted Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church as her mission. She financed the construction of the Gothic Revival sanctuary (dedicated in 1903), built a public bathhouse, launched Richmond’s first free circulating library in 1899, created a sewing school and kindergarten, and established Saint Andrew’s School, which offered Richmond’s first free Kindergarten, first night classes, and first school for the deaf.
Her impact extended across neighborhoods. Arents and her partner, Mary Garland Smith, bequeathed their farm at Bloemendaal to become the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, a lasting gift to the city she loved.
Arents believed buildings should uplift communities. More than a century later, the spaces she created continue to serve Richmond — a powerful reminder that preservation is about people as much as place.
