Rowland G. Hazard

Rowland Gibson Hazard (October 9, 1801 – June 24, 1888) was an American industrialist, politician, and social reformer.

Hazard was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island in 1801. His parents were Rowland Hazard (sometimes referred to as Rowland Hazard I), founder in 1802 of the Peace Dale Manufacturing Company in Peace Dale, Rhode Island, and the former Mary Peace. He grew up in Bristol, Pennsylvania, in the home of his maternal grandfather, Isaac Peace. He was educated in a Quaker boarding school in Burlington, New Jersey, where he developed a particular interest in mathematics. In 1819 he returned to Rhode Island to join his elder brother Isaac in the management of the Peace Dale Manufacturing Company.

In 1828 he married Caroline Newbold of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The couple had two sons, Rowland II and John.

A third brother, Joseph P. Hazard, became a partner in the Peace Dale operation in 1828, and the business took the name "R.G. Hazard & Co." One of Rowland Hazard's responsibilities was selling the company's products to planters in the southern United States, particularly Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. He spent winters in New Orleans from about 1833 to 1842 to sell goods that included cotton bagging cloth, pre-cut garments, low-priced shoes, and raw "Negro cloth" for use by African-American slaves.

After an 1845 fire destroyed one of the mill buildings, the brothers built new facilities, including expanded hydropower 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 Hazard as secretary/treasurer. In 1849 the business started a transition into making woolen shawls and other high-quality woolens instead of cheaper fabrics.

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