Peace College has a long tradition of providing education to women. Peace was founded in 1857 by Raleigh's First Presbyterian Church. William Peace, a Raleigh businessman and church elder, provided $10,000 and eight acres of land for the school. The school was to be named Peace Institute in his honor.

However, Mr. Peace did not live to see the school open. Construction on Main Building was interrupted by the Civil War, with the Confederate government taking the building so that it could be used as a military hospital. After the war, the federal government used the building briefly as the North Carolina headquarters for the Freedmen's Bureau, which worked to help former slaves establish new lives.

In the early 1870s, the Presbyterian Church regained ownership of the property, made repairs to the building, and Peace Institute opened in 1872.

The school was leased to the Reverend Robert Burwell, who, along with his son John Bott Burwell and other members of the family, operated Peace Institute until 1890. By the end of the 19th century, it was possible for a girl to receive her entire education at Peace, from kindergarten through the type of college-level courses available to women then.

During the first half of the 20th century, Peace was governed by a board of trustees elected by area Presbyterians. It was during these decades that Peace Institute became Peace College, as its instructional programs were redesigned. By 1940, Peace offered an academic program that encompassed the last two years of high school and the first two years of college.

During the 1960s and into the early 1970s, Peace College saw its greatest growth. Eleven buildings were built on campus between 1962 and 1974, the two oldest buildings were renovated, and tennis courts, brick walks, and paved parking lots were added. During this same period, Peace ended its high school program and operated as a junior college.

During the mid-1990s, the College took steps to begin the transformation into a four-year baccalaureate institution. Peace awarded its first baccalaureate degrees in 1997, the same year the College chose its first alumna president, Laura Carpenter Bingham, Peace Class of 1977.

With considerable support from alumnae and friends, substantial investments have been made to accomplish the expansion to senior college status. A new classroom building opened in 2000, and a new residence hall in 2005. Other buildings have seen substantial renovations, and plans are in the works for yet more facility growth and improvement. New academic programs continue to be added to the College's offerings

Today, Peace College enjoys a reputation of providing women a unique environment in which they collaborate closely with their teachers while attaining their bachelor's degree education.