The Norwood Historical Society’s Fred Holland Day House

Until his death in 1933, the Day House was the residence of Fred Holland Day, noted photographer, publisher, historian, and philanthropist.  F.H. Day, the only child of wealthy, indulgent parents, had the luxury of developing his interests and talents; love for literature, art, beauty, and antiquity came to dominate his life.  He pursued careers in publishing and the emerging art of photography, achieving fame in both fields.       

Following a tour of Europe, young Day undertook the remodeling of his parents’ home, built in 1859 in the French Second Empire style. The remodeling began in 1890 when F.H. Day was 26 years of age.  The complicated, lengthy project was completed in 1893.  Lewis, Anna, and Fred Holland Day, residing primarily in Norwood, were the only family to live in the mansion at #93 Day Street.          

F.H. Day, unmarried, had no heirs.  Since his parents’ death, their assets, including the house, had been held in trust for the duration of their son’s lifetime. Excluding provisions for the continued support of longtime employee Alfred Tanneyhill and other faithful retainers, the estate was the property of the Joseph Day Trust, named for F.H. Day’s paternal grandfather. Lewis Day had died in 1910 leaving his wife and son. Anna Smith Day died in 1922.  Her will specified the house should become a charitable institution for “the deserving poor” after Fred’s death, to be called the Lewis and Anna Day Home for the Aged.  After F.H. Day died in 1933, trustees deemed the building unsuitable for that use. 

Lewis and Anna Day are entombed in the Chapel of St. Gabriel at Highland Cemetery, Norwood.  Built in memory of their parents, the chapel was designed by Cram Goodhue & Ferguson.  Fred Holland Day’s ashes were scattered off the Maine seacoast. 

The Norwood Historical Society, incorporated in 1907 without a headquarters, approached the trustees, obtained a short-term mortgage, and purchased the Day House in 1934.  Within one year, the Society was able to pay off the mortgage with funds received from the Trust under the terms of F.H. Day’s will.  The will gave money in stocks and bonds to a Norwood Historical Society under certain conditions, but Day must have doubted the viability of the young organization.  Many valuable objects went to the Dedham Historical Society, also with provisions.  The terms were specified: should a Norwood Historical Society acquire headquarters prior to 1970 and prove within one year its ability to support such headquarters, the items would return to Norwood.  Day desired that his historical collection be displayed and appreciated.  Members of the Society were able to acquire some of the Day House furnishings at a 1934 auction of F.H. Day’s estate.  The Society also owns a number of Day’s books and photographs  (valuable original works of photographic art are not kept in the Day House).

The Society’s archives contain volumes of Day’s handwritten notes on genealogy and local history.  Other objects on display include artifacts from the time when Norwood was the South Parish of Dedham, predating the house itself.  Society members, townspeople, and descendants of early Norwood residents, along with community organizations, have generously donated gifts and services to enhance the collection and maintain the building.  The Norwood Historical Society, founded for the purpose of preserving Norwood’s history, is dedicated also to the preservation of the Day House. Fred Holland Day could not have foreseen that his home would become the headquarters of the Norwood Historical Society, housing many of his possessions. We hope he would be very pleased.  We welcome visitors to the remarkable Day House.