Others were concentrated in Companies D and E of the 108th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment, in which 205 of the 214 fatalities suffered by the regiment were due to disease rather than combat, 134 of whom died in February and March 1863 alone. A leading community institution of Woodford County for more than 150 years is Eureka College, a liberal arts school affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Its most noted alumnus is US President Ronald Reagan. Eureka College traces its roots back to the summer of 1848, when a young collegian named A.S. Fisher appeared in Walnut Grove (original name of Eureka) and expressed his interest in conducting a school that would teach language, science, mathematics, and philosophy. Fisher was employed to teach school for 10 months, with a number of local worthies, including many active in the Church of Christ, guaranteeing payment of his salary. This school was formally launched in September 1848. Owing to the presence of a charismatic local religious leader, the Church of Christ showed great growth during this period, adding 100 adherents in 1848, with other supporters in neighboring counties. Demand grew for transformation of the school into a seminary with room and board for students from other localities, with instructional costs to be covered through collection of tuition. In September 1849, the school was rechristened Walnut Grove Seminary and relaunched with A.S. Fisher as principal, assisted by a young woman "of superior ability and tact as a teacher." Fisher would ultimately spend 38 years associated with the college which would emerge. In December 1849 the school was incorporated as Walnut Grove Academy. Money was collected for an expansion of the facility and a new two story building constructed. The enterprise continued to expand and planning began for expansion of the academy into a college, with necessary buildings and a library. Appeals were made to the state Missionary Convention of the Church of Christ in 1851 and enthusiasm for establishment of a college within the church laity grew. According to the US Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (2.7%) is water. Most of the area is prairie land, with some bluffs originally covered with timber. In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Eureka have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1905 and a record high of was recorded in July 1936. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in May.