Over 150 years old, Peace Dale Congregational Church (PDCC) began as a Sunday School based in the home of Rowland and Margaret Hazard. The ten original members initially met for services in the home of Rowland Hazard II (1829-1898), and then at Peace Dale Hall. In 1870, the cornerstone of a new church building was laid; the building was completed in 1872 and still stands in Peace Dale today. The Margaret Chapel was added later, dedicated to the memory of Margaret Rood Hazard, who died in 1895.

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The church’s origin can be traced almost 200 years earlier to 1668 when men known as the “Seven Purchasers” acquired the Pettasquamscutt Purchase, 300 acres of land, to provide an income to fund the preaching of God’s word to the inhabitants. One of the Seven was John Hull, Mint Master in Boston and treasurer of the colony. Samuel Sewall married John Hull’s daughter and later managed her inheritance, enabling him in 1702 to deed one acre of land on Tower Hill at the road to Middle Bridge for a meeting house and place of worship. Judge Sewall sold the Meeting House land to Thomas Hazard, who immediately transferred the land to the Meeting. Thomas’ grandson, Rowland Hazard, desired a more active religious experience and joined the First Congregational Church in Kingston. Soon after marrying Margaret Rood, they organized a Sunday School which was the beginning of the church. The church formally became a Church of Christ on February 13, 1857 when a creed and covenant were assented to. The church was fully established on December 29, 1858 with the appointment of Rowland Hazard and Joseph Williams as Deacons.

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Source: “…Look forward with Great Hope, 150 Years of
The Peace Dale Congregational Church, 1857-2007”

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Senior Ministers of Peace Dale Congregational Church
The Rev. S. B. Durfee (1857)

The Rev. Oliver Brown (1857-1859)

The Rev. G. F. Pratt (1860-1861)

The Rev. S. M. Freeland (1861-1862)

The Rev. D. S. Rodman (1862-1863)

The Rev. N. W. Williams (1863-1867)

The Rev. Augustine Root (1868)

The Rev. Dr. George Whitefield Fisher (1868-1880)

The Rev. Oliver Pomeroy Emerson (1880-1888)

The Rev. Joseph Warner Fobes (1889-1914)

The Rev. Samuel Calcord Bartlett (1915-1922)

The Rev. Carl D. Skillin (1922-1929)

The Rev. Arthur W. Clifford (1929-1940)

The Rev. Wesley A. Mallery (1940-1943)

The Rev. R. Vernon Lawson (1943-1959)

The Rev. Dr. Lawrence A. Washburn (1960-1993)

The Rev. John Hudson (1994-2000)

The Rev. Dr. Richard Aubin-Fischer (2001-2002)

The Rev. Paul A. Bizer (2002-2017)

The Rev. A. Fred Evenson (2019-present)