Editing Woodford County, Illinois (section)

===Eureka College===
{{Main|Eureka College}}
[[File:EurekaCollege-schoolhouse.jpg|thumb|300px|Eureka College began as a one-room schoolhouse in 1848, when the town was known as Walnut Grove.]]
A leading community institution of Woodford County for more than 150 years is [[Eureka College]], a [[liberal arts college|liberal arts]] school affiliated with the [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)]]. Its most noted alumnus is [[President of the United States|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 ten 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 payments|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 [[Incorporation (association)|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.<ref name="Dickinson19">{{Cite book |last=Dickinson |first=Elmira J. |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofeurekac00eureuoft |title=A History of Eureka College: With Biographical Sketches and Reminiscences |publisher=Christian Publishing Company |year=1894 |location=St. Louis, Missouri |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofeurekac00eureuoft/page/19 19]–28}}</ref>