Campus History (taken from
http://www.mac.edu/campus/camp_history.html)
"MacMurray College dates its history from 1846 when a group of Methodist clergymen, led by Peter Cartwright and Peter Akers, founded it as the Illinois Conference Female Academy. The first class was held in 1848. The school was renamed the Illinois Conference Female College in 1851, with the name changed again to Illinois Female College in 1863...... More serious pursuits included student support for Union efforts during the Civil War and the development of Belles Lettres and Phi Nu, literary societies designed to promote "independent thought and accurate habits of composition," according to the 1856 catalog."
Well, Phi Nu was around in at least 1856, but theres nothing to note when they actually opened, and if they ever closed and later reopened.