Memorial Object

Plaque/Marker

Emancipationist

Garrison, William Lloyd

Stone memorializing William Lloyd Garrison

The “Walk of Fame” was created in 1929 by then president Hamilton Holt to honor significant historical figures. The memorial is located in the center of campus around Mills Lawn. The Walk of Fame stone that is dedicated to William Lloyd Garrison is a stone that was originally acquired by Clara Adolfs and Hamilton Holt on September 3, 1931, and given to Rollins College to be added to the Walk of Fame. The stone was acquired from Newburyport, Massachusetts as Clara Adolfs and Hamilton Holt were passing through the town together. Within Newburyport, they had asked where the birthplace of William Lloyd Garrison was and, after Hamilton Holt asked for a stone, took the stone from the yard of the home.

After Rollins gained possession of the stone, it was dedicated to William Lloyd Garrison and placed in the Walk of Fame. The Walk of Fame originally was intended as a way to display stones from the birthplaces of people who changed history for better or worse, though it was usually to celebrate people who identified with the college’s values. Garrison was an ardent abolitionist and one of the founding members of the American Anti-Slavery Society. He spoke and wrote often for the American Anti-Slavery Convention. Garrison held a no-compromise view on slavery and believed that it must be abolished no matter the cost and that it should not be subject to gradual abolition but should be done quickly.

Holt, Hamilton

Small stone, originally taken from Newburyport, Massachusetts, measures 8 1/4" by 7 1/4" wide.

Garrison William Lloyd Wm. Lloyd Garrison Newburyport

Rollins College

Holt, Hamilton

Adolfs, Clara

September 3, 1931

1890-1945: Era of the Lost Cause, Jim Crow legal segregation and discrimination, and organized anti-Black racism

Rollins College

Walk of Fame

Rollins College; Winter Park, Florida

https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q360155

https://www.nps.gov/people/william-lloyd-garrison.htm

https://www.nationalabolitionhalloffameandmuseum.org/william-lloyd-garrison.html