debates during his life. He was considered an important historical figure of religious liberty at the time of American independence, and he was a key influence on the thinking of the Founding Fathers. Tributes Tributes to Williams include: The 1936 commemorative Rhode Island Tercentenary half dollar Roger Williams National Memorial, a park in downtown Providence established in 1965 Roger Williams Park, Providence, Rhode Island, and the Roger Williams Park Zoo Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island Roger Williams Dining Hall at the University of Rhode Island Roger Williams Inn, the main dining hall at the American Baptists' Green Lake Conference Center, founded in 1943 in Green Lake, Wisconsin Rhode Island's representative statue in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol, added in 1872 A depiction of him on the International Monument to the Reformation in Geneva, along with other prominent reformers Roger Williams Middle School, a public school in Providence Pembroke College in Brown University was named for Williams' alma mater Slate Rock Slate Rock, a prominent boulder on the west shore of the Seekonk River (near the current Gano Park) was once one of Providence's most important historic landmarks. The rock was believed to be the spot where the Narragansetts greeted Williams with the famous phrase "What cheer, netop?" The historic rock was accidentally blown up by city workers in 1877. They were attempting to expose a buried portion of the stone, but used too much dynamite and the stone was "blasted to pieces." A memorial in Roger Williams Square commemorates the location. Notable descendants These are some descendants of Roger Williams: Sen. Nelson W. Aldrich Gail Borden Bill Gore Julia Ward Howe Kennett Love Gov. Sarah Palin Michelle Phillips (folk/rock star, actress) Bishop Alonzo Potter H. C. Potter (Director) Bishop Henry Codman Potter Bishop Horatio Potter Trevor Potter David Rockefeller John D. Rockefeller III Laurence Rockefeller Vice President Nelson Rockefeller Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller Baroness Pauline de Rothschild Charles Eugene Tefft See also Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Rhode Island List of early settlers of Rhode Island John Cotton (puritan) John Winthrop Joseph Kinnicutt Angell Roger Williams National Memorial Roger Williams Park References 59.Popular History of New England Volume 1 Published 1880 By Crocker & CO. Publishers in Boston Page 399 Further reading Barry, John, Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul (New York: Viking Press, 2012). Bejan, Teresa, Mere Civility: