National Park Service - Rhode Island Historical Preservation ...

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NPS Form 10-900-i - - En,- 10-31-U
3-82
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service - - -
National Register of Historic Places
Inventory-Nomination Form -
Continuation sheet 46 -
- Item number 8
Page 2
The village was the creation of the Hazard family over four
generations. Their accomplishments as industrialists, both in
terms of innovation and success, were matched by dedication to an
improved social order, and the munificence of their philanthropy.
The Hazards were Friends into the -mid-nineteenth century. There
is- about their seriousness, ambition, and commitment -- and in
the sobriety, unity and air of elevated amenity encountered in
their village--much which reflects Quakerly attitudes. Named by
- the founder of the family woolens business, Rowland Hazard I, for
his wife, Mary Peace, "Peace Dale" bespeaks what was sought--a
community living in sweet harmony with itself.
Peace Dale merits consideration in at least seven of the
established National Register "areas of significance" -architecture,
art, community planning, engineering, industry,
landscape architecture and the catchall "social/humanitarian"
category. Of these, the most important areas are the last, and
industry. Before substantiating these seven areas of
significance, however, it will be useful first to review the
history of the Peace Dale Manufacturing Company, the Hazard
family, and the village.
During the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries,
South Kingstown and much of Washington County were dominated by a
small group of families owning large plantations devoted to
commercial agriculture directed to export through nearby Newport.
Among these "Narragansett Planters" the Quaker Hazards were the
largest and most powerful clan. In the late eighteenth century
Rowland Hazard I left Rhode Island to establish itself in the
shipping business in Charleston, South Carolina. There he
married Mary Peace. In the 1790s, war in Europe played havoc
with American maritime commerce, and in 1799 Rowland Hazard
returned to South Kingstown with his w-ife. In 1804 he purchased
a 1/3 interest in a small wool-carding mill at a water power
privilege on the Saugatucket River. During the next few years
his involvement in the business grew. He began putting out his
carded wool to be spun in area homes, then taking the yarn
produced and putting it out to be hand-woven into cloth by local
- weavers. Hazard purchased the mill privilege outright in 1812
and invested in experimental machinery including primitive power
looms. -By 1815, Rowland Hazard I ran a small, fully integrated
manufacturing operation, going from raw material to finished
goods; it is said to have been one of the first such textile
plants in America. -