A plaque next to the statue reads: "Thomas Day (1801-ca. 1861) Sculptor's representation of Thomas Day, a free African American in Caswell County who created fashionable furniture and architectural elements before the Civil War. In memory of Dellie Hardison Smith, dedicated leader of North Carolina arts and humanities."
"Thomas Day (c. 1801 – c. 1861) was a free black American furniture designer and cabinetmaker in Caswell County, North Carolina. Day's furniture-making business became one of the largest of its kind in North Carolina, employing at one point up to twelve workers, and distributing furniture to wealthier customers throughout the state. Much of Day's furniture was produced for prominent political leaders, the state government, and the University of North Carolina.
Day was born to free black parents in Dinwiddie County, Virginia around 1801. His family moved to Warren County, North Carolina in 1817, and then to Caswell County sometime after 1822. Day began his cabinetmaking business in Milton, North Carolina with his brother, John Day, Jr., but his brother left Caswell County by 1825, leaving the cabinetry business solely to Thomas. John Day would later emigrate to Liberia and serve as Chief Justice of Liberia.
After his furniture business became profitable, Day married Aquilla Wilson of Halifax County, Virginia in 1830, and had three or four children.
Day's furniture-making business, though owned by a free black American, employed the use of both black slaves and of white apprentices, despite the general belief that Day, as a free man, was of lower social stature than his white apprentices.
As a businessman, Day was quite successful, at one point becoming a stockholder in the State Bank of North Carolina, and Day owned significant real estate, including his place of business and residence. This was highly unusual for a free person of color in the era before the American Civil War. Day had even managed to steam-power much of his furniture-making implements, which aided greatly in his production volume and efficiency. A national economic panic in 1857 caused Day's furniture business to suffer heavily, and in 1861 or at some time shortly after, Thomas Day died, although his exact death date is not known due to the lack of local public records. Day's home and workshop have been restored and are significant points of local and state history. In addition, his furniture was and is still seen as of the highest quality antebellum, native furniture in North Carolina. Pieces of Day's work have been displayed at various museums throughout North Carolina and Virginia, and an exhibit focused on Day's work will open at the North Carolina Museum of History in May, 2010.
Due to Day's status as a free black, and his unique achievements given the social and racial restrictions of the era, he is hailed as a highly important figure in the history of North Carolina's African American culture.
A statue of Thomas Day stands outside the North Carolina Museum of History, along with statues of Frederick Augustus Olds and a representative Sauratown Woman."
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