The Creal Springs Seminary, later known as the Creal Springs College and Conservatory of Music, was an educational institution in

Creal Springs, Illinois Creal Springs is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 543 at the 2010 census. Geography Creal Springs is located at (37.619805, -88.837699). According to the 2010 census, Creal Springs has a total area of , ...

, USA from 1884 to 1916. It was headed by Principal

Gertrude Brown Murrah Gertrude or Gertrud may refer to: Places In space *Gertrude (crater), a crater on Uranus's moon Titania *710 Gertrud, a minor planet Terrestrial placenames *Gertrude, Arkansas *Gertrude, Washington * Gertrude, West Virginia People * Gertrude (g ...

, a graduate of the

Mount Carroll Seminary The Mount Carroll Seminary was the name of Shimer College from 1853 to 1896. The Seminary was located in Mount Carroll, Illinois, in the United States. A pioneering institution in its time and place, the Mount Carroll Seminary served as a center ...

Mount Carroll, Illinois Mount Carroll is a city in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. It is the Carroll County seat. The population was 1479 at the 2020 census. Due to its elevation and northwesterly location, Mount Carroll is subject to unusually cold winter wea ...

. The school was built as a three-story frame building on a five-acre site on the north edge of town, on land acquired from the Creal family by Mrs. Murrah and her husband Henry Clay Murrah. It opened on September 22, 1884, and was chartered in August 1888 by the State of Illinois as Creal Springs Seminary Company. The school was originally planned to be for girls only, but due to high demand from boy students it opened as

coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

al. At the end of the first 12-week term, there were a total of 59 students enrolled. The faculty had six members including Mr and Mrs Murrah. The program was divided into primary, preparatory, college-level and music departments. In January 1894, the name of the school was changed by charter from Creal Springs Seminary to Creal Springs College and Conservatory of Music. Both bachelor's and master's degrees were provided. The faculty at this point numbered 15, with approximately 100 students enrolled. In 1902, the library had 400 volumes. The faculty and students jointly published a quarterly magazine called the ''Erina Star''. The school closed on December 24, 1916. Mrs Murrah continually struggled to reopen the school until her death in 1929. The building was demolished in 1943.

Alumni

Mary L. Moreland Mary L. Moreland (December 23, 1859 – March 17, 1918) was an Congregationalism in the United States, American Congregational minister as well as a teacher and a writer. Among her publications can be counted ''Which, Right or Wrong?'' (1883) and ...

(1859-1918), minister, evangelist, suffragist, author

References

Bibliography

* *{{cite web, title=History of Creal Springs Seminary, url=http://www.marionunit2.org/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=2903, accessdate=2010-05-13, author=Creal Springs School, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727064414/http://www.marionunit2.org/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=2903, archive-date=2011-07-27, url-status=dead Education in Williamson County, Illinois Defunct schools in Illinois 1884 establishments in Illinois 1916 disestablishments in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1884 Educational institutions disestablished in 1916