Peace Dale (also spelled Peacedale) is a village in the town of
South Kingstown,
Rhode Island
Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
, United States. Together with the village of
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...
, it is treated by the
U.S. Census as a component of the
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...
identified as
Wakefield-Peacedale.
The Peace Dale Historic District was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
as a
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...
in 1987.
The historic district is roughly bounded by Kersey Rd., Oakwoods Dr., Kingstown Rd., School, Church and Railroad Sts., and contains the historic core of the village.
History
Peace Dale was established as a village in 1793 by South Kingstown industrialist Rowland Hazard who named the village in honor of his wife, Mary Peace Hazard. Around 1804, Hazard reputedly pioneered the use of
carding
In Textile manufacturing, textile production, carding is a mechanical process that disentangles, cleans and intermixes fibres to produce a continuous web or sliver (textiles), sliver suitable for subsequent processing. This is achieved by passi ...
machines to process wool in Rhode Island. In 1814, Hazard was also one of the first American manufacturers to employ narrow-width
power loom
A power loom is a mechanized loom.
Shuttle looms
The main components of the loom are the warp beam, heddles, harnesses, shuttle, reed, and takeup roll. In the loom, yarn processing includes shedding, picking, battening and taking-up operations ...
s, and also was the first woolen manufacturer to combine all his manufacturing processes under one roof, from wool carding through spinning, weaving, and dyeing.
In 1819 Rowland Hazard's sons Isaac P. Hazard and
Rowland G. Hazard assumed management responsibility for the Peace Dale Manufacturing Company.
[Rowland Gibson Hazard, Rhode Island Manufacturer, Politician, and Philosopher]
University of Rhode Island Library, Special Collections and University Archives, 2007
Rhode Island Historical Society, Manuscripts Division A third brother, Joseph P. Hazard, joined them as a partner in 1828, and the business took the name "R.G. Hazard & Co."
[
Around 1820 the senior Rowland Hazard renamed the nearby industrial village to Wakefield after the town and family of the same name in England, who were friends of his. Prior to this, the village had been called McCoon's Mill for the snuff mill that by the 1820s had been converted to manufacturing woolen textiles.
After an 1845 fire destroyed one of the mill buildings,][ the brothers built new facilities, including expanded ]hydropower
Hydropower (from Ancient Greek -, "water"), also known as water power or water energy, is the use of falling or fast-running water to Electricity generation, produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by energy transformation, ...
systems and a fireproof stone factory.[ In 1848 the partnership incorporated, becoming the Peace Dale Manufacturing Company, with Isaac P. Hazard as president and Rowland G. Hazard as secretary/treasurer.][Rowland G. and Caroline (Newbold) Hazard Papers]
Rhode Island Historical Society, Manuscripts Division In 1849 the business started a transition into making woolen shawls and other high-quality woolens instead of cheaper fabrics.
Peace Dale Neighborhood Revitalization, Inc., 2007[ Rowland Hazard II also was an initial investor in the Solvay Process Company, with works at Solvay, New York, and served as the company's first president.
Peace Dale's mills operated for woolen manufacturing until 1948, when the manufacturing machinery was removed.][Historic and Architectural Resources of South Kingstown, Rhode Island: A Preliminary Report]
Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, 1984
The Hazard family also owned and operated the Narragansett Pier Railroad which connected their textile mills in Peace Dale and Wakefield to the New York, Providence and Boston Railroad at Kingston Station (Rhode Island) and to shipping at South Pier in the village of Narragansett Pier.
Contributing properties
Buildings in Peace Dale that are identified as contributing properties in the historic district include:
* Peace Dale Congregational Church, a Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...
church built in 1870–72 on Columbia St.Colonial Revival
The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture.
The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...
school built in 1923, on Kersey Rd.
* Former Peace Dale Grammar School, built in 1902 at 8 Kersey Rd., later used for storage.
* Peace Dale Manufacturing Co. Water Power Sys., an energy facility built in the 1850s on Kingstown Rd.
* Hazard Memorial/Peace Dale Library, a Romanesque former auditorium, built in 1890–91 on Kingstown Rd.
* Peace Dale Office Building, built circa 1856 at 604 Kingstown Rd.
* General Isaac Peace Rodman House at 1789 Kingstown Rd.
* Peace Dale Woolen Mill, a Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...
factory built in 1847 at Kingstown Rd. and Columbia St.
* Peace Dale Railroad Station (former), built in 1875–76 on Railroad St.
* Peace Dale Pump House, a former water mill that was a restaurant and is now occupied by Shady Lea Guitars, a guitar oriented shop, studio, and performance venue located on Kingstown Rd.
Gallery
File:Peace Dale Congregational Church.JPG, Peace Dale Congregational Church
File:Hazard Memorial Peace Dale Library.JPG, Hazard Memorial Peace Dale Library
File:Peace Dale Railroad Station (former).JPG, Peace Dale Railroad Station (former)
See also
*
References
Further reading
*''A Stroll Through Memory Lane Vol. I'' by Oliver H. Stedman. West Kingston RI : Kingston Press c. 1978
*''Lost South Kingstown : with a history of ten of its early villages'' by Kathleen Bossy and Mary Keane. Kingston, R.I. : Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, c. 2004
*''History of Washington and Kent counties, Rhode Island'' by J.R. Cole. New York : W. W. Preston & Co., 1889
External links
Town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island
Peace Dale Presentation
Peace Dale Manufacturing Company Records at Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School
{{authority control
Villages in Washington County, Rhode Island
Villages in Rhode Island
History of the textile industry
South Kingstown, Rhode Island
Historic districts in Washington County, Rhode Island
Providence metropolitan area
Populated places established in 1800
1800 establishments in Rhode Island
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island