John S. Keen, a Methodist minister, began a school near here in 1891 for ministers and teachers. After about 10 years as president, Keen sold the school to W. H. Evans, who managed an orphans home with the school for a short time. By 1905 the school had closed, but it had served hundreds of young people, including Robert Johnson, whose son Gov. Keen Johnson was named after the school's founder. Residents and students held the school's traditions in high esteem, and two of its people, Drs. A. B. Mackey and T. W. Willingham, became college presidents. Others who gave years of service to the community beyond the school's era included Dr. R. E. Gibson, a physician and lifelong resident, and Rev. I. T. Stovall, a minister and educator.