Thomas Green Clemson's will called for a high seminary of learning where students could study science and mechanical art, a people's university open to all South Carolinians, rich and poor alike. Stone columns marked the original formal gateway to Clemson University. The original gates were built from field and river stone in 1915, 26 years after the founding of the land-grant institution known then as Clemson Agricultural College in November 1889. This landmark served as a meeting place for cadets and travelers through the decades. The columns and walls were built in the Arts and Crafts architectural style, a pre-World War I style using a minimum of mortar, sand, and other materials. The gates were renovated in 1932 with wash stone from the Seneca River, now part of Lake Hartwell.