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is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of South Kingstown in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 8,468 at the 2000 census.
Peace Dale (also spelled Peacedale) was founded around 1800 by South Kingstown industrialist Rowland Hazard, who named the village after his wife, Mary Peace. Around 1804, Hazard reputedly pioneered the use of carding machines to process wool in Rhode Island. In 1814, Hazard was also one of the first American manufacturers to employ narrow-width power looms, and also was the first woolen manufacturer to combine all his manufacturing processes under one roof. Around 1820 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. Rowland Hazard II (1829-1898) was an initial investor in the Solvay Process Company and its first president. His son, Frederick R. Hazard, succeeded him as president of the company, with works at Solvay, New York.