The Cranston Print Works Post Office, (Cranston Township, Providence County) was established on December 19, 1868 under Postmaster Orton E. Coleman.  The Post Office was disestablished on April 24, 1893 and the name was changed to the Cranston Post Office. The Cranston Post Office was disestablished on August 31, 1903 and the Cranston Branch of the Providence Post Office was established on September 1, 1928 and is currently in operation.  The Cranston Print Works Post Office was formerly known as the Knightsville Post Office, which was established on August 19, 1847 under Postmaster William Fairbanks.

Postmaster Orton E. Coleman was born in 1842 in Hampton, Connecticut. Orton married Rachel Coleman in 1866. They had 5 children; Rosey L., Earl S., Edward S., Maud, and Kenneth G.

Cranston Print Works in Cranston, Rhode Island was founded in 1824 by Governor William Sprague as the Sprague Print Works. It is the oldest textile printing company in the U. S. After the Civil War, ownership of the mill passed to B. and R. Knight, who operated it under license with Fruit of the Loom. In 1920 William Rockefeller bought the mill and reorganized it as the Cranston Print Works. Currently the company is employee owned and operates diversified businesses in several states, although the corporate headquarters and the textile division still operate out of Cranston.

An Interesting side-note is that one of the founders of the Rhode Island State Fair Association was Roland G. Hazard II, the grandson of textile manufacturer, Roland G. Hazard.

SEE: Hazard Family Letters for further information.