The institution that eventually became William Peace University was founded in 1857 as Peace Institute by a group of men within the Presbyterian Synod of North Carolina. The leading donation of $10,000 () came from William Peace, a prominent local merchant and a founding member of the First Presbyterian Church of Raleigh. Peace is believed to have been in the first class of the University of North Carolina, and was a longtime proponent of education as a benefactor of Raleigh Academy, a school primarily for boys.