I think you are probably referring to the Centenary Institute in Summerfield (formerly Valley Creek), immediately north of Selma. Sometimes called Centenary College, it had divisions for both women and men, and flourished before and for a while even after the Civil War -- it educated the children of planters and others in the surrounding Black Belt area. It finally changed its status in the 1880s. For a long time, it was associated with the Methodist Church. Summerfield in the 1850s was a very aristocratic, cultured small town. The Institute's later form finally closed in the 1930s or 1940s, I think. The ruins of the old "college" (steps, walkways, etc.), are still visible in Summerfield, if you know where to look for them. Best wishes, Bob Parrott