Norwood historic bell gets a place of honor on the Fourth of July

A fire bell cast in 1847, once housed at the South Dedham No. 7 fire station on Washington Street – now the site of Norwood’s St. Catherine’s Church rectory – has been restored and installed on the grounds of Norwood Town Hall, directly across from its original location. A short Fourth of July ceremony honoring its return marked the completion of its long journey home.

The bell has a storied history. Cast in 1847 at the Holbrook Foundry in “East Medway” (now part of Millis), it originally hung at the Washington No. 7 firehouse in “South Dedham,” now Norwood. Its role in the village’s annual July 4th celebration sparked a dispute in 1868, when Dedham officials forbade the bell from being rung. In defiance, the firefighters rang it anyway, an act that reflected South Dedham’s independent spirit. Four years later, in 1872, Norwood was incorporated as its own town. The bell stayed at the firehouse until it was moved to the 1906 fire station, where it continued to be rung on Independence Day. In 1928, it was relocated to Town Hall and placed inside with the carillon bells, where it remained largely hidden until August 2022, when it was removed for restoration.

It was returned on June 30 and placed in its new location on the west side of Town Hall where a group of 30 enthusiastic citizens gathered to hear the bell rung for the first time in almost 100 years. Also in attendance were town officials who were instrumental in getting the bell refurbished.

Anne Marie Haley, a member of the Finance Commission, said the commission gets involved when there is money to be directed to different projects.

“Usually, the Finance Commission is not necessarily involved in it, but we can direct people to where we think that the money should be coming from … this is a really big deal for us,” she said, nodding toward the bell.

Town Manager Tony Mazzucco, who was out connecting a microphone and speakers for the occasion, noted the location of the bell allowed the town to carry on with the tradition of ringing it at least once a year. “After all these years, we're going to be able to ring it again on Independence Day, and it feels really good … my guess is this is going to be part of our annual Fourth of July tradition.”

When asked if it will be rung on other occasions, Mazzucco mused, “There may be some other ceremonies … maybe we'll do it on the Town's birthday, although of course it's in February, so I don't know how many of us want to be out here in February.”

Again, deciding on the right location was vital. “We wanted it as close to where it may have originally been as possible, close to Town Hall, close to the fire station. We wanted a publicly accessible location, too,” Mazzucco said.

Selectman Cheryl Doyle said she came out to see the bell based on a personal connection to it.

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“I've been on CPC (Community Preservation Committee) since it started, and I was part of the historic seat. And then when I became a selectman, I took the seat representing them.”

CPC member Julie Barbour-Issa was also enthusiastic about the bell finally being completed as she supported the financing for the project. “We review the applications on an annual basis, and then after we vote for the projects, they get funded.”

Several firefighters were called upon to ring the bell after which others then volunteered to keep ringing, including younger members of the community, for whom it is expected this will be part of the official Independence Day town celebration in the future. The group quickly dispersed as the main event, the annual town parade, was soon to begin.