Rhode Island Picture Post Cards
The Hazard Memorial and Peace Dale Library
Peace Dale, Rhode Island - 1917-1920
(Scroll Down for Background Information and History)

 

This postcard is unused, however the sculpture of the "Weaver" doesn't appear to be present and that was sculpted and placed in 1920. The card was produced in Great Britain rather than Germany and is of the divided back type. That would indicate a date for this card of somewhere between 1917 and 1920.

The Hazard Memorial Building was constructed in 1889 and dedicated in 1891 in honor of Rowland Gibson Hazard, (1801-1888). The building was deeded by the Peace Dale Manufacturing Company to three trustees in 1891 to be used for the benefit of the community. Funding for the trust was initially provided by the Peace Dale Manufacturing Company and later by two endowment funds set up by Caroline Hazard in 1920 and Edith H. Forbes in 1926.
See: 1840 Roland G. Hazard Letter & Bio
See: Hazard Family History

In 1920 a bronze sculpture named "The Weaver" was created by the famous sculptor Daniel French and placed on the front lawn slightly behind the large white sycamore tree, (which I believe is the tree at the extreme right of the picture).  The sculpture was designed to honor all weavers from prehistoric basket makers to the mill workers of the Hazard textile era. Daniel French also sculpted the Minuteman at Concord Bridge in Massachusetts and the seated Abraham Lincoln statue in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

The building was initially used for a variety of local activities including theatrical performances. The first floor of the building initially housed the Peace Dale Library and  also housed several classes for the South Kingstown Public School District from 1941 to 1954. The Peace Dale Library became the sole tenet of the building in 1970.


RI Historical Society
The Post Offices
Home Page
RI Tercentenary Issue History
RI Philatelic Society
Recently Added Pages
Philatelic Primer
Rhode Island Around the World
Rhode Island Town Postmarks
Other Websites of Interest
Hazard Family Letters I

Hazard Family Letters II 
Hazard Family Letters III

Hazard Family History

Return to Picture Postcard
Thumbnail Page Part 13