Oconee History Museum dedicates ‘Peace Pole’ South Carolina-USA

September 23, 2023

The Oconee History Museum dedicated a Peace Pole  at 123 Browns Square Dr. in Walhalla. The Peace Pole reads, “May Peace Prevail On Earth,” in English, Spanish, German, Cherokee and Braille.

Local community and religious leaders gathered in Walhalla to ‘put peace above division.’

The Oconee History Museum the Peace Pole dedication to celebrate International Day of Peace with people showing how to encourage peace in the community.

Museum director/curator Leslie Hagerty said a private donor paid for the Peace Pole, which is an “internationally recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth,” according to May Peace Prevail On Earth International. The organization estimates there are more than a quarter of a million Peace Pole spread across every country in the world dedicated as monuments to peace.

“We thought it seemed like a good message for the community and a good way to showcase Walhalla’s diverse cultural heritage so we moved forward on that,” Hagerty said. “It’s interesting. I wasn’t aware of them before this. … It seemed like a nice message to bring and bring some people together that don’t normally. We just don’t have a lot of that going on.”