Creal Springs Seminary stood 350 feet east southeast of this site and opened on September 22, 1884. It was built on a five-acre tract purchased from Edward Creal by Gertrude Brown Murrah and her husband, Henry Clay Murrah, in March 1884. The school was a three-story frame structure with a basement and attic and was chartered in August 1888 by the State of Illinois. Headed by principal Gertrude Brown Murrah, a graduate of Mt. Carroll Seminary in Mt. Carroll, Illinois, it was originally planned for female students only, but high demand from male students led it to open as co-educational. There were 59 students enrolled in the first 12-week term, and the six-member faculty, including the Murrahs, offered primary, preparatory, college-level, and music departments. In January 1894, the school became a Baptist institution and its chartered name changed to Creal Springs College and Conservatory of Music, where both bachelor's and master's degrees were offered. At that time the faculty numbered 15, with approximately 100 students enrolled. The college became an important part of community life through its many activities and social functions. Gertrude Murrah served as a teacher and principal for 32 years until the school closed on December 24, 1916. She continually struggled to reopen it until her death in 1929, and the building was demolished in 1943.