SULLIVAN COUNTY
HISTORY
Sullivan county was organized in 1817, and embraced,at the date of its
formation, all the territory north of Knox county to the lakes. The
present limits include about four hundred and twenty square miles.. The
county received its name in honor of General Sullivan, of revolutionary
fame, who was the intimate friend of General Knox, after whom Knox
county was named.
The first settlement in Sullivan county was made by the family of James
Ledgewood, who located near the present site of Carlisle, in 1803.
Colonel Samuel Ledgewood, a son of James, lived within a mile of where
his father settled, for many years after, and was a leading and
respected citizen of the county. The Ledgewood family were the first
settlers north of Knox county, and should have a prominent place in the
history of Sullivan county.
Those who followed James Ledgewood, and were early settlers in the
county, were Benjamin Price. :Major Watson, Thomas Holden, Edward.
Parcell, Col. John Benefiel, and others. Colonel Benefiel was a member
of the first constitutional
convention, held in 1816. He represented Knox county, which, at that
time, included Sullivan.
In 1808, Carlisle was laid off, and quite a settlement sprang up in
that vicinity during the same year. It was at this place that the early
county courts were held, Judge Prince, presiding; George R. O.
Sullivan, prosecuting attorney; and R. Buntin, sheriff. The courts were
often held under a large beech tree in the north part of the town. At
an early day the county seat
was removed to Merom, where it remained until 1843, when, after a good
deal of difficulty, it was permanently located at Sullivan. Carlisle
being the oldest town in the county, though not the largest, has
several historical phases. In the first place, it is one of the oldest
American settlements in the State. During the war of 1812, it figured
prominently, furnishing many brave soldiers for the :field. It was near
Carlisle that the " Dudley Mack" massacre took place during the war.
The county is watered by Busseron and Turman's creeks. The latter was
named after Benjamin Turman, the first settler on the west side of the
county in 1806. The lands lying in
Sullivan
county are equal to those of
the best agricultural counties in the State, and for mineral wealth the
county has but few rivals. The Wabash bottoms, which are extensive in
this
county, are excellent lands for
com. There are large tracts of beach and sugar lands, which are well
adapted to the production of clover and timothy, as also oak lands to
that of
wheat and
other grains. The townships
of Curry, Jackson, Cass, and Jefferson, have an abundant supply of the
very best bituminous coal in the State. These extensive coal fields are
being mined, without interfering in any degree with the agricultural
interests of the surface of the country.
Numerous coal shafts are already in working order, from which immense
quantities of coal are shipped to Chicago and other cities.
The town of Sullivan, located nearly in the center of the county, is
the county seat, and has a population of over two-thousand. It is
incorporated .as a town, having a board of trustees and a town clerk
and a marshal. Until within a few years, the town government has not
been very enterprising, but recently a new spirit of enterprise has
taken hold of both people and
government. The public schools, for so many years neglected, are now
both an honor and an ornament to
the town. The public school building, an engraving of which we present
herewith, is one of the finest in the State. It is a magnificent three
story brick structure, having been erected at a cost of over twenty
thousand dollars,
and capable of seating about six hundred pupils, exclusive of the
spacious hall for general exercises, which is capable of seating about
five hundred people. There is a well conducted school kept open in this
building the whole year. When the town school year is closed, the
school is continued as a
private enterprise. It is known as the "Ascension Seminary," and is
called one of the most successful graded schools in the State. Governor
Hendricks, at a visit to this school, two
years ago, expressed himself happily surprised at finding it so
efficient, and the pupils so well advanced in all branches of study.
Sullivan is situated on the Evansville, Terre Haute and Chicago
railroad, and will soon have .the benefits of an east and west road,
which is now in contemplation to run through Greene county. With an
extensive and abundantly rich agricultural region around it, with
inexhaustible coal fields on. either side, and with sterling business
men, May we not expect Sullivan soon to reach a position of
eminence among the cities or
the State. The court house located here. is a fine building having cost
over sixty thousand dollars. It is
located in
a pleasant square of over
two acres, and will, during the present season, be enclosed by a
substantial hon fence.
Merom is
also a lively town in this
county. It has the Union Christian College, one of the best
institutions of the kind in
the State, under the patronage of the denominationof Christians (New
Lights,) and destined to become a leading college. This institution has
a most
delightful site, being built upon the highest point on the Wabash, and
commanding an extended view of
the Illinois prairies. This town is also interesting to the scientist
and antiquarian on account of the recent discovery at that place of the
remains of a once petrified town, located on one of the highest points
of the Wabash. Investigation in this mound, has revealed stone vaults,
human skeletons, implements of war, and many other rare curiosities.
The county was settled principally by Kentuckians, but embraces persons
from nearly every State. The citizens are an exceedingly industrious
and very intelligent class of people. Sullivan county will keep pace
with the rest of the: State, in its grand march to progress and wealth.
The schools and churches all over the county are in a fair condition,
and, what is still better, there is a disposition. manifesting itself
to improve these. The county has fully entered upon a new era of
progress in all branches of industry, and in all the professions. The
population of the county is about twenty-five thousand.