Peace Park also known as McAlester Arboretum is a park and arboretum located on the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

campus in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It was renamed Peace Park after the Kent State Massacre, to which there is a memorial in the park. The park is near Francis Quadrangle and the Missouri School of Journalism. Across Elm Street is Downtown Columbia and the Columbia Missourian, Shakespeare's Pizza, and the

State Historical Society of Missouri The State Historical Society of Missouri, a private membership and state funded organization, is a comprehensive research facility located in Columbia, Missouri, specializing in the preservation and study of Missouri's cultural heritage. Establ ...

. Peace Park is popular with students, faculty, and Columbia residents alike. Center for Missouri Studies from Peace Park (June 2020)

History

McAlester Park is the oldest undeveloped land on Mizzou's main campus. It was named after McAlester Hall, home to the medical school, in the early 1900s. In 1967, the park was the gathering place for a peaceful anti-war rally. Again, in 1969 on Moratorium Day people gathered in the park to peacefully protest. On May 4, 1971, one year after the Kent State Massacre, students gathered again in the park to peacefully march. The march ended back in the park, where they officially changed the name from McAlester Park to Peace Park. The night ended in an all-night concert. By the end of the night, students had created a peace symbol of rocks within the park as a memorial to the Kent State Massacre victims

Features

The McAlester arboretum contains more than 100 trees of 43 varieties. Plans include adding several genera of trees and shrubs important to the

Mid-Missouri Mid-Missouri is a loosely-defined region comprising the central area of the U.S. state of Missouri. The region's largest city is Columbia (population 121,717); the Missouri state capital, Jefferson City, and the University of Missouri are also l ...

region. Goose Creek runs through the park and eventually into Flat Branch of

Hinkson Creek Hinkson Creek is a stream in Boone County in the U.S. state of Missouri. Its middle section runs through the city of Columbia, Missouri It was named after Robert Hinkson, a pioneer citizen who lived along its banks. Several trails, conservation ar ...

and ultimately to

Perche Creek Perche Creek, or Roche Perche Creek is a stream in Boone and Randolph counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. Besides the Missouri River it is the largest stream in Boone County, Missouri and forms much of the western border of the city of Columb ...

and the Missouri River. The campus has been designated the Mizzou Botanic Garden.

History

Features

See also