"The Peace Candle of the World, also known as the Scappoose Peace Candle, is an approximately 50-foot-tall (15 m) tower-like structure 18 feet (5.5 m) in diameter in Scappoose, Oregon, designed to resemble a candle. It was built in 1971 outside what was then the Brock Candles Inc. factory, which burned down in 1990. The land was formerly a dairy farm; factory owner Darrel Brock created the candle by covering a silo with 45,000 pounds (20 t) of red candle wax to advertise the factory. (Wikipedia)

"The candle was originally built with an actual wick. On May 9, 1971, the town's mayor and Oregon Governor Tom McCall lit the candle with a specially-made 60-foot-long match. President Richard Nixon declined a request to light the candle. Due to difficulties in keeping the candle lit during rainfall, the wick was replaced with a natural gas line up the center of the candle to create a real flame at the top. However, due to environmental concerns and high gas bills, the flame was eventually replaced with an electric neon light flame structure.

"The candle is meant to serve as a symbol for the desire for world peace. During the Christmas season the Scappoose Peace Candle is strewn with strands of Christmas lights. The Scappoose region around the Peace Candle of the World has become more and more developed in recent years, and local residents fear that the candle could be demolished for redevelopment."

"The Peace Candle of the World is a distinctive landmark on Highway 30, near the southern boundary of the Lower Columbia River town of Scappoose, Oregon. Fifty feet tall and eighteen feet in diameter, the Candle was initially coated with 45,000 pounds of multicolored wax and topped with a wick. The Candle was built by Darrell Brock and his family, who had reconstructed a dairy barn in Scappoose and opened a candle-making business, Western Candle. They used the core of the farm’s grain silo to build the landmark project in 1971, the Oregon Encyclopedia says.

"The Brocks asked Governor Tom McCall to help establish the candle as a symbol of world peace by celebrating a lighting event on Mother’s Day, May 9, 1971. The governor accepted the invitation and spoke to an estimated crowd of five thousand people. He praised Brock’s enterprise and called the occasion “a tremendous day for the State of Oregon, and the United States of America, and for all the things we stand for as patriotic citizens.” Together, McCall and Brock lit the Peace Candle of the World with a specially purposed sixty-foot match, and Western Candle employees rode a lift high enough to set the match to the wick.

"Over time, the weather took its toll on the Candle, and a subsequent owner replaced the wax with gunite (a mixture of cement, sand, and water) and coated it with red epoxy paint. The original wick was replaced by a neon flame. In 2015, Weather.com, a weather and travel website, selected the Scappoose Peace Candle of the World as Oregon’s Most Incredible Roadside Attraction."

"As The Weather Channel’s 2015 Oregon Pick for “Most Incredible Roadside Attraction in Every State,” the Peace Candle of the World is the signpost of Scappoose. Darrell Brock, owner of Western Candle Ltd., began constructing the 50-foot candle in 1969 using an old silo," the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Experience says.

"In 1971, Brock and Oregon Governor Tom McCail lit the candle with a 6-foot match and celebrated the lighting as a symbol of the town’s desire for world peace.

"While the original candle had a natural gas flame on the inside and 45,000 pounds of wax on the outside, the current candle has a more durable coating and an electric flame. Find the candle on the south end of Scappoose on the northbound side of US 30."

"Without the imagination and conviction of Darrell Brock, the world's largest candle would have never been-at least not in Scappoose. When the Brock family traveled to Anaheim, California in 1969 to visit Disneyland, Brock was particularly impressed with the vast array of man-made objects at the southern California amusement site," the Peace Candle says.

"An idea had been bouncing around in his head for many years-build something large and impressive out of wax. Maybe an entire wax tree, no possibly a small model city fashioned entirely out of wax. Not the answer. The idea, the thought, the dream was there but what form would it take?

"After the initial 10 tons, one-thousand pounds of wax, now falling in spurts of color and perfumed with a pleasant aroma that can be detected miles away, were applied each day until only three days ago when the accumulation of color, scent and wax reached 40,000 plus pounds."

"The most prominent landmark in the city of Scappoose is the Peace Candle of the World. It’s been in a field at the old Brock Candles Inc. site since 1971," the FM News 101 says.

"It’s listed in many travel publications and websites, with the Weather Channel in 2015 calling it Oregon’s most famous landmark.  If you’re going to have a famous landmark, it’s got to look good!

"The city of Scappoose has been sprucing it up by adding a fresh coat of paint and some other minor improvements. The candle is so iconic, it even has it’s own Facebook page!"

"The giant "Peace Candle of the World" is located in Scappoose, Oregon on what was previously a farm owned by the Scharf family. Darrel Brock purchased the property and built a candle factory, Western Candles Ltd., which was quite successful. As a way of drawing attention to their enterprise, they ran a natural gas line up through the center of an existing 50-foot silo on the property and put over 45,000 pounds of brilliant multi-colored wax on the outside, transforming it into a massive candle for peace. If the winds were just right, fragrances from the wax could be smelled in downtown Scappoose," the Waymarking.com says.

"The official dedication and lighting ceremony took place on the afternoon of May 9, 1971. Oregon Governor Tom McCall and his wife, Audrey, flew into Scappoose on a helicopter, the Scappoose High School Band played “America the Beautiful,” and over 5,000 people looked on as Governor Tom McCall, Scappoose Mayor Forrest Sanders and Darrel Brock lit the world’s largest candle, “The Peace Candle of the World," with the help of a cherry picker and a 60-foot match that had been specially constructed for the event.

"The dedication and lighting ceremony brought people from all over the country, including Canada. Free parking was available on the farm and cars lined U.S. Highway 30 for two miles in each direction. A 2:30pm Burlington Northern Railway freight train that normally passed the candle factory was rescheduled."

"They're roadside attractions, and they're much beloved. Thus, Weather.com has selected the "Most Incredible Roadside Attraction in Every State," ranging from the real house in Massachusetts made out of newspaper to Sam Walton's original, unassuming store in Arkansas," the OregonLive.com says.

"And which attraction in Oregon is "most incredible"? The weather and travel site picked "The Peace Candle of the World" off U.S. Highway 30 near Scappoose.

"The 50-foot-high former grain silo, stuffed with 45,000 pounds of candle wax and with a gas flame, was dedicated by Gov. Tom McCall in 1971. It is now topped with a neon flame."

World’s Largest Candle Sculpture: world record in Centerville, Indiana

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OREGON WORLD RECORDS