On a late Sunday morning in the spring of 1914, the usually steady rhythm of traffic along Washington Street in Norwood was abruptly broken at the intersection with Railroad Avenue. Horse‑drawn vehicles still shared the road with the growing presence of automobiles, and that uneasy coexistence came sharply into focus when a motorcar collided with a buggy, leaving splintered wood, shaken passengers, and a vivid reminder of how quickly the modern age could intrude on everyday life.
Shortly after 11:15 a.m., William Morrill of 51 Monroe Street, Norwood, was driving a horse‑drawn buggy along Washington Street. With him rode Perley Parker, a seven‑year‑old passenger. The quiet routine of their ride ended when an automobile, owned and driven by Dr. D. Swain of 56 Hull Avenue, West Somerville, came into contact with the buggy at the Washington Street and Railroad Avenue junction.
The impact was forceful enough to smash the buggy and throw its occupants out into the street. Morrill suffered bruises and a painful wrenching of his right arm, while young Parker, remarkably, escaped injury. In an era before seat belts, safety glass, or standardized traffic controls, such an outcome could easily have been far worse.
Medical attention was close at hand. Morrill was treated by Dr. Edward F. Brennan, whose prompt care helped stabilize his injuries. The incident underscored how physicians in the early 20th century often moved fluidly between roles—some, like Swain, behind the wheel of automobiles that symbolized progress; others, like Brennan, tending to the human cost when that progress collided with older ways of moving through town.
The automobile involved in the collision was not empty aside from its driver. Along with Dr. Swain and his wife, Mrs. Swain, their daughter Frances Swain was also in the car. They were accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Poole of Hanover Street, Providence. What may have begun as a routine drive through Norwood for the Swains and their guests turned, in an instant, into a jarring reminder of the risks that came with the new technology of the road.
For Norwood in 1914, this accident was more than just a brief newspaper item. It reflected a transitional moment in local life. Horse‑drawn buggies, once the unquestioned standard of personal transportation, were increasingly sharing—and competing for—space with automobiles. Intersections like Washington Street and Railroad Avenue, close to rail lines and commercial activity, were becoming busier and more complex to navigate.
The collision also highlighted the vulnerability of ordinary residents like Morrill and Parker, who were simply going about their day when they were caught in the path of a machine that could move faster and with more force than the vehicles Norwood’s streets had originally been built to accommodate. For families reading the account the next day, it would have been easy to imagine themselves in a similar situation—turning a corner, crossing a familiar intersection, and suddenly facing danger from a speeding car.
At the same time, the presence of out‑of‑town visitors from West Somerville and Providence spoke to Norwood’s growing connectivity. The town was no longer an isolated community; it sat on routes that drew travelers, professionals, and families from other cities and states. The roads that brought opportunity and connection also brought risk.
Though the report did not dwell on blame or legal consequences, the facts alone would have stirred conversation in barbershops, kitchens, and workplaces. Residents might have debated who had the right of way, whether automobiles were being driven too fast through town, or whether new rules were needed to keep horses, buggies, and cars from colliding at busy crossings.
In the end, the story of the smashed buggy at Washington Street and Railroad Avenue stands as a small but telling moment in Norwood’s passage into the automobile age. A local man injured, a child spared, a buggy destroyed, and a car full of visitors shaken—together they form a snapshot of a community learning, sometimes painfully, how to share its streets with the future.
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