The Symmes Gate was the gift of Mr. and Mrs. William B. Symmes in memory of those lost at sea when the Steamship Mohawk collided with another vessel off the coast of New Jersey. The accident claimed the life of their son, William Dwight Symmes, Williams Class of 1935, and two of his senior classmates, as well as that of Prof. Herdman Cleland, all of whom were en route to the Yucatan for a geological expedition. Three Williams students survived.