{"id":378935,"date":"2026-07-01T12:13:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T12:13:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/libraryarchives\/?p=378935"},"modified":"2026-07-01T14:34:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T14:34:34","slug":"we-pledge-our-lives-sacred-honor-signers-of-the-declaration-of-independence-featured-in-the-rollins-walk-of-fame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/libraryarchives\/2026\/07\/01\/we-pledge-our-lives-sacred-honor-signers-of-the-declaration-of-independence-featured-in-the-rollins-walk-of-fame\/","title":{"rendered":"We Pledge our Lives & Sacred Honor: Signers of the Declaration of Independence Featured in the Rollins Walk of Fame"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wenxian Zhang<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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This public domain image of the United States Declaration of Independence is a version of the 1823 William Stone facsimile; the Stone engraving of the parchment is on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America, more commonly known as The Declaration of Independence<\/em>, is one of the most important founding documents in the history of the United States. The Declaration<\/em>‘s second sentence \u2014 “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” \u2014 is considered one of the most significant and celebrated lines in human history.[1]<\/a> This public statement not only outlined the numerous indictments of the tyranny of King George III of Great Britain but forcefully asserted the fundamental human rights principles of “all men are created equal” and “consent of the governed.” The ideals of the American Revolution served as an essential inspiration for the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen<\/em> in 1789.[2]<\/a> The Declaration of Independence<\/em> has become one of the most widely circulated, reprinted, and influential documents in world history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 4, 1776, the Declaration<\/em> was adopted unanimously by delegates of the Second Continental Congress, who convened at the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) in the colonial city of Philadelphia. Risking charges of high treason against the British Crown \u2014 an offense punishable by torture and death \u2014 56 people signed this historic document and have since been regarded as Founding Fathers of the United States. In 1984, as a gift from the American Revolution Bicentennial Administration, the Memorial for the 56 Signers of The Declaration of Independence<\/em> was dedicated in Constitution Gardens on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where the signatures of all the original signers are carved into 56 granite stones bearing their names, places of residence, and occupations. Not many people know, however, that decades earlier, twenty signers were also featured in the Walk of Fame at the center of the Rollins campus on Mills Lawn. Those stones are highlighted below as part of Rollins and Winter Park’s America 250<\/em> celebration in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n

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JOHN ADAMS<\/strong> (1785-1826) – Quincy, MA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Adams, second president of the United States, played a central role in the events surrounding the American struggle for independence. He served in the Continental Congress, on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence, and in several other official positions throughout the American Revolution. Adams was elected vice president in 1789 and president in 1796. John Adams purchased his home in Quincy, which he later bequeathed to his son, John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States. The stone is from the brook that borders the property, where the West Point cadets bathed when they visited the Adamses.<\/p>\n\n\n

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ABRAHAM CLARK<\/strong> (1726-1794)- Elizabeth, NJ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abraham Clark served in the Continental Congress, signed the Declaration of Independence, and later served in the United States Congress. This stone was taken from the earth on the approximate site of the original Clark estate, which is no longer intact.<\/p>\n\n\n

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BENJAMIN FRANKLIN<\/strong> (1706-1790)- Philadelphia, PA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American statesman, scientist, printer, and philosopher Benjamin Franklin played a key role in the events surrounding the American Revolution and the founding of the United States. As a printer, he printed and published The Pennsylvania Gazette <\/em>and Poor Richard\u2019s Almanac<\/em>, for which he gained wide readership. He was a member of the Second Continental Congress and the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence, of which he was also a signer. Franklin also represented the colonies abroad during the American Revolution and successfully negotiated a treaty enlisting French support. This stone is from the cellar wall of the old printing shop where Franklin worked and where he often slept under the counter. It was reset in the Walk of Fame on November 21, 2000, at the dedication of the Franklin sculpture.<\/p>\n\n\n

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ELBRIDGE GERRY<\/strong> (1744-1814)- Cambridge, MA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elbridge Gerry was a member of the Continental Congress, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation, and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Gerry later represented Massachusetts in the House of Representatives and became governor of the state. As governor, he oversaw the redistricting of Massachusetts such that the Republicans would retain control\u2014hence the term \u201cgerrymander.\u201d Gerry served as vice president under President Madison. The stone came from the home of Elbridge Gerry in Cambridge, MA.<\/p>\n\n\n

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BUTTON GWINNETT <\/strong>(1735-1777)- Gwinnett County, GA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Button Gwinnett was a member of the Continental Congress, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and president of the Georgia State Assembly. He was killed in duel by General Lachlan McIntosh, a political opponent. Gwinnett is known chiefly because his autographs are extremely rare and command a high figure at auctions. The block of native Georgia granite on which the plaque is mounted was taken from the place where the county seat of Gwinnett County was founded.<\/p>\n\n\n

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LYMAN HALL<\/strong> (1724-1790)- Midway, GA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lyman Hall was a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He became governor of Georgia in 1783. This stone is from Lyman Hall\u2019s plantation in Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n

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JOHN HANCOCK<\/strong> (1737-1793)- Quincy, MA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Hancock was active in the colonial cause from an early date. He was elected to the Massachusetts legislature, a member of the Continental Congress, president of Congress, and the first signer of the Declaration of Independence. He became the first governor of Massachusetts following independence. This stone is from the backyard of the Y.M.C.A. building that occupied the site of Hancock\u2019s old home.<\/p>\n\n\n

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JOHN HART<\/strong> (1711-1779)- Hopewell, NJ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Hart was a member of the Continental Congress from New Jersey and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The stone is part of the spring wall, from the original domicile Hart built during the colonial era.<\/p>\n\n\n

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STEPHEN HOPKINS<\/strong> (1707-1785)- Providence, RI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephen Hopkins was governor of Rhode Island, a member of the Continental Congress, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The stone was found in the backyard of Hopkins\u2019 home in Providence, later a museum.<\/p>\n\n\n

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ROBERT MORRIS<\/strong> (1734-1806)- Philadelphia, PA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Morris was a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. During the Revolution, he helped finance the supplies of General Washington\u2019s armies. Morris was later the Superintendent of Finance under the Articles of Confederation and a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. This stone was from his residence in Philadelphia, PA.<\/p>\n\n\n

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GEORGE READ<\/strong> (1733-1798)- Charlestown, DE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

George Read was a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He presided over Delaware\u2019s Constitutional Convention and served as a delegate to the Federal Constitutional Convention, where he vigorously defended the rights of smaller states. Read later became a senator from Delaware and chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court. Since there is no record of the exact location of George Read\u2019s birthplace, the stone was taken from the town that his grandson named as the place of his birth.<\/p>\n\n\n

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CAESAR RODNEY<\/strong> (1728-1784)- Kent County, DE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American patriot Caesar Rodney devoted himself to the colonial cause as early as 1765, when he was a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress. He later served as a member of the Continental Congress from Delaware, and he was a key signer of the Declaration of Independence. Rodney was at home in Delaware when he received words of the impending vote on independence. He immediately jumped on his horse and arrived in Philadelphia just in time to cast the deciding vote for the Delaware delegation. The stone was taken from Caesar Rodney\u2019s birthplace in Kent County, Delaware.<\/p>\n\n\n

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EDWARD RUTLEDGE<\/strong> (1749-1800)- Charleston, SC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edward Rutledge was a member of the Continental Congress from 1774-1777 and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was a member of the South Carolina legislature from 1782-1796 and governor of South Carolina from 1798-1800. Edward Rutledge is buried in historic St. Phillips churchyard, Charleston. This stone was found a few paces from his grave.<\/p>\n\n\n

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ROGER SHERMAN<\/strong> (1721-1793)- Newton, MA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roger Sherman was a member of the Continental Congress from Connecticut. He introduced the Connecticut Compromise to the Congress with Oliver Ellsworth. This compromise settled the dispute between large and small states concerning representation in Congress. The compromise provided for the bicameral system we know today whereby representation in the House of Representatives is according to population and representation in the Senate is the same for all states. Sherman signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Association, the Articles of Confederation, and the Federal Constitution, the only person to sign all four documents. Ralston Pickering \u201934 secured this stone from the site of the foundation of Sherman\u2019s old home.<\/p>\n\n\n

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MATTHEW THORNTON<\/strong> (1714-1803)- Merrimack, NH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American physician Matthew Thornton was a member of the Continental Congress of New Hampshire and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Matthew Thornton was born in a house across the road from a monument erected in his honor at Merrimack. Direct descendants of Thornton who occupied the house permitted the stone to be removed for inclusion in the Rollins Walk of Fame.<\/p>\n\n\n

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WILLIAM WHIPPLE<\/strong> (1730-1785)- Portsmouth, NH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

William Whipple was a member of the Continental Congress from New Hampshire and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He also commanded militia in the Saratoga and Rhode Island campaigns. This stone came from the William Whipple home in Portsmouth, which was occupied later by the Daughters of the American Revolution and maintained as a shrine. Rollins President Hamilton Holt found the stone in the garden.<\/p>\n\n\n

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WILLIAM WILLIAMS<\/strong> (1731-1811)- Lebanon, CT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American merchant William Williams was a member of the Continental Congress of Connecticut and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The stone came from the rear of the house where Williams was born.<\/p>\n\n\n

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JOHN WITHERSPOON<\/strong> (1723-1794)- Tusculum, NJ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Scottish American Presbyterian minister John Witherspoon served as president of the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, from 1768-1794. He vocally supported the colonial cause at the first signs of trouble with Great Britain and went on to serve as a member of the Continental Congress, where he was the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. Witherspoon later became a member of New Jersey\u2019s Constitutional Ratification Convention. This stone was found at Witherspoon\u2019s home in Tusculum, New Jersey. He built the home himself in 1773.<\/p>\n\n\n

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OLIVER WOLCOTT<\/strong> (1726-1797)- Litchfield, CT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oliver Wolcott was a member of the Continental Congress from Connecticut and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He also organized and commanded a militia from Connecticut during the Revolution. Wolcott briefly served as governor of Connecticut from 1796 to 1797. This stone came from Wolcott home in Litchfield, Connecticut.<\/p>\n\n\n

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GEORGE WYTHE<\/strong> (1726-1806)- Williamsburg, VA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The American jurist and law teacher George Wythe was admitted to the bar in 1746. He then practiced law in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he also taught law from 1762-1767. One of his students at the time was Thomas Jefferson. A vigorous supporter of American independence, Wythe was a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He later became a judge on Virginia\u2019s high court of chancery and asserted the power of courts to refuse to enforce unconstitutional laws in Commonwealth v. Canton<\/em>. Wythe also taught John Marshall at the College of William and Mary. where he taught law from 1779-1789, thus becoming the first professor of law in the United States. He later opened a law school in Richmond, where his students included Henry Clay. The brick is from the former residence of Wythe in Williamsburg, Virginia. When the stone was obtained, the house was just a pile of bricks around the chimney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rollins Walk of Fame<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stones serve many purposes. They build houses and fences, and paths to walk upon. When we come to die they keep the lasting record of our fame, whether we be great or small. The kind and loyal friends of man.<\/em>[3]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origin of Rollins Walk of Fame can be traced back to Hamilton Holt (1872-1951), eighth president (1925-1949) who is still remembered as one of the greatest presidents in the college history. The idea came from his \u201cAncestral Walk\u201d in his summer home in Woodstock, Connecticut. After collecting 22 stones from the homes of famous Americans such as George Washington and Ralph Waldo Emerson, Holt decided to give them to Rollins, which were then dedicated on October 18, 1929. According to Holt: the Walk of Fame was \u201cto have every man or woman, living or dead, whose services deserve the eternal remembrances of mankind, represented in our Walk. One must found a republic, win a war, paint a Sistine Madonna<\/em>, compose Parsifal<\/em>, write a Hamlet<\/em>, fly over the Poles, discovery the law of evolution, or preserve the human voice in wax.\u201d From its modest collection in 1929, the stones in the Walk of Fame grew very quick. There were 200 stones in 1931, 469 in 1935, 575 in 1938, and more than 800 in 1954.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origins of the Rollins Walk of Fame can be traced back to Hamilton Holt (1872\u20131951), the eighth president of the college (1925\u20131949), who is still remembered as one of the greatest presidents in Rollins history. The idea came from his “Ancestral Walk” at his summer home in Woodstock, Connecticut. After collecting 22 stones from the homes of famous Americans such as George Washington and Ralph Waldo Emerson, Holt decided to donate them to Rollins; they were dedicated on October 18, 1929. According to Holt, the Walk of Fame was intended “to have every man or woman, living or dead, whose services deserve the eternal remembrance of mankind, represented in our Walk. One must found a republic, win a war, paint a Sistine Madonna, compose Parsifal, write a Hamlet, fly over the Poles, discover the law of evolution, or preserve the human voice in wax.”[4]<\/a> From its modest beginnings in 1929, the Walk of Fame’s collection grew very quickly. There were 200 stones in 1931, 469 in 1935, 575 in 1938, and more than 800 in 1954.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, after President Holt’s long tenure, the Rollins Walk of Fame began to deteriorate. Over the years, many stones were lost while others broke into pieces and had to be removed from the Walk, including the stone from Monticello, Virginia, that featured Thomas Jefferson, a primary author and signer of the Declaration of Independence<\/em>. Finally, in 1989, during President Thaddeus Seymour’s administration \u2014 sixty years after its initial dedication \u2014 the Rollins Walk of Fame was renovated along the red-brick, horseshoe-shaped sidewalk around Mills Lawn. Through the caring efforts of many devoted people, the Walk of Fame has since become a celebrated attraction in Winter Park, Florida. Day by day, Rollins students and faculty walk the memorial path to their classes, and each year people from all walks of life muse over those inscribed stones beneath the giant oak trees. As symbols of greatness, they are enduring stones that deliver inspiration and urge the procession of visitors toward greater endeavors of mind and spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The Inscription – \u201cSermons in Stones, and Good in Everything.\u201d – on the mill stone of Rollins Walk of Fame is a quotation from William Shakespeare\u2019s As You Like It.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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[1]<\/a> Stephen E. Lucas, “Justifying America: The Declaration of Independence<\/em> as a Rhetorical Document.” In Thomas W. Benson (ed.), American Rhetoric: Context and Criticism<\/em> (Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. 1989), 85.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a> Georges Lefebvre, The Coming of the French Revolution<\/em> (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005), 212.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/a> Hamilton Holt, The Walk of Fame: A Path of Many Memories<\/em> (Winter Park, Florida: Rollins College, 1939).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/a> Wenxian Zhang, \u201cA Brief History of the Walk of Fame.\u201d In Wenxian Zhang, David Smith and Patricia Strout comp. Walk of Fame: A Rollins Legacy<\/em> (Winter Park, Florida: Rollins College, 2004), 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/a> Rollins College News Bureau, Oct. 1954. 05C Walk of Fame, Rollins College Archives, Winter Park, Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wenxian Zhang This public domain image of the United States Declaration of Independence is a version of the 1823 William Stone facsimile; the Stone engraving of the parchment is on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America, more commonly known as The Declaration…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":378951,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-378935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","wpcat-1-id"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/libraryarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/libraryarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/libraryarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/libraryarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/libraryarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378935"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/libraryarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":378980,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/libraryarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378935\/revisions\/378980"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/libraryarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378951"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/libraryarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/libraryarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rollins.edu\/libraryarchives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}