Photo: Bmzuckerman, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Rowland Gibson Hazard was born in 1801 in South Kingstown. With his brother, he took over the family’s woolen mills in Peace Dale and expanded the business. The mills made cloth for markets across the country, including the South, where he traveled often for business.
A writer on the mind
Hazard was also a serious thinker. He wrote books on philosophy, including Freedom of Mind in Willing, published in 1864, and essays that drew the notice of well-known writers of his day.
Politics and slavery
He served in the Rhode Island legislature and became an outspoken opponent of slavery, which was unusual for a manufacturer with Southern customers. He helped free Black sailors from Rhode Island who had been jailed in New Orleans under Louisiana laws.
The village
Hazard and his family built schools, a library and other buildings in Peace Dale. Hazard Memorial Hall, built later by his son and grandchildren in his memory, still stands at the center of the village.
He died in 1888. The Hazard name is on streets, buildings and parks across South Kingstown.
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