Peace College Main Building is the focal point of the Peace College

campus A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls. By extension, a corp ...

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. Built between 1859 and 1862, Main Building is located at the northern end of Wilmington Street in downtown Raleigh and is considered one of the largest

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum architectu ...

buildings surviving in the city. During its early history, Main Building was used as a

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned or operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a m ...

and offices for the

Freedmen's Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, usually referred to as simply the Freedmen's Bureau, was a U.S. government agency of early post American Civil War Reconstruction, assisting freedmen (i.e., former enslaved people) in the ...

. The building now contains offices,

parlor A parlour (or parlor) is a reception room or public space. In medieval Christian Europe, the "outer parlour" was the room where the monks or nuns conducted business with those outside the monastery and the "inner parlour" was used for necessary ...

s, banquet rooms, and

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm), also known as a hall of residence, a residence hall (often abbreviated to halls), or a hostel, is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential qu ...

residences. Main Building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1973 and is a designated Raleigh Historic Landmark.

History

Before the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, women in North Carolina were not allowed to receive

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

at a majority of colleges. The only exceptions were

Salem College Salem College is a private women's liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1772 as a primary school, it later became an academy (high school) and ultimately added the college. It is the oldest female educational esta ...

, Louisburg College, Greensboro College, the Chowan Baptist Female Institute (no
Chowan University
and New Garden, an institution operated by

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

. In 1847,

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

in Raleigh passed a church resolution to provide an educational institution specifically for women. The resolution stated, "Be it resolved that the Reverend William N. Mebane and Elder Alfred M. Scales respectfully bring to the notice of the Orange Presbytery meeting in Raleigh the importance of establishing a female institution of learning to be under the direction of Orange Presbytery." William Peace, one of the founders of the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

, was an elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Raleigh. Peace donated land and $10,000 (one-third of the total cost of Main Building) for the construction of the new school. Peace Institute of Raleigh was incorporated on October 1, 1858. Construction of the building began in 1859, but when North Carolina

seceded Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal is the c ...

from the Union in 1861, the building was still incomplete. Thomas Hill, a

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

for the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

, was sent to Raleigh to open a hospital for wounded

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

soldiers. Hill wrote:

"It was at first proposed to take the St. Mary's School with buildings, but on consultation with friends this idea was abandoned; and it was pointed out that the Peace Institute, then in an incompleted condition, could be had-and would be more suitable and cause less dissatisfaction. I visited the place and found a large brick framework,-the roof on,-but no floors and windows,-, General Holmes' orders were to hurry up matters and, if necessary, to impress every able-bodied man in Raleigh and put .him to work-and get the building ready. Major Pierce called in the contractor, Mr. Briggs, and he promised to put hands enough to work to get the Hospital ready in a month. ... In the meantime ... the floors were put down and frames made for the windows – no glass could be found – so the frames were covered with white domestic and painted to keep out the cold. ... As well as I can recollect ... the first patients were received on the 6th of June, 1862."

After the Civil War ended in 1865, Main Building was used as the district headquarters of the Freedman's Bureau Agency. The Bureau was responsible for providing relief and education to refugees and former

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

during the

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

period. In 1869 the Bureau moved to another location, and Main Building went through an extensive renovation. Because of the economic hardships experienced by many Southerners after the War, the

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

s of Peace Institute were unable to repay the loans for the building project. A local businessman, R. S. Pullen, assisted with repaying these loans. A

joint-stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareho ...

led by local Presbyterians funded the

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curriculums or curricula ) is the totality of student experiences that occur in an educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experi ...

of "three courses of instruction:

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

, Preparatory and Collegiate." With this funding, classes officially began at Main Building in 1872. In 1914, Peace became the first

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

in the South, and eventually the primary and preparatory programs were discontinued at Main Building. The East Wing of the building was constructed in 1928. In 1995, Peace's curriculum was changed to baccalaureate status.

Architecture

Main Building is an example of

Greek Revival architecture Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

and is accented with

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

designs. The facade of the four-story building contains a central

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

supported by four Doric

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

Baluster A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

s are located between these columns on the three upper levels. The balconies offer views of downtown Raleigh. The building consists of three wings. The first and second floors of Main Building are occupied by faculty and administrative offices. The third and fourth floors are used as dormitory rooms by approximately 50 students. The West Wing contains the Williams Board Room, the Blue Parlor, offices, and the James Dinwiddie Chapel. The East Wing contains Career Services, Academic Advising, Adventures Program, Educational Support Services, and the Leggett Theater complex. Other buildings that have been constructed on the college campus are similar in architectural style to the Main Building.

References

External links

Peace College website
{{National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina American Civil War hospitals University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina School buildings completed in 1862 Greek Revival architecture in North Carolina Buildings and structures in Raleigh, North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Raleigh, North Carolina University and college academic buildings in the United States William Peace University 1862 establishments in North Carolina Brick buildings and structures in North Carolina

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links