Sullivan, Missouri

Sullivan is a city located on Interstate 44 in Crawford and Franklin Counties, Missouri, about 60 miles southwest of St. Louis. It had a population of 7,081 at the 2010 census.

History

The Sullivan area was first settled in the late 1810s by several families from South Carolina, taking advantage of its fertile land and proximity to the Meramec River. Chief among these early settlers was Reverend Jacob Clark (1810-1857), a Presbyterian minister who initially dubbed the developing community "Mount Helicon" after a mountain in Greece that in ancient mythology was the home of the god Apollo and of the Muses. As it lay on the direct line between St. Louis and Springfield, the nearby land was being surveyed for construction of the Pacific Railroad by the early 1850s, and the line itself was extended to that point by 1859. Another local landowner and railroad contractor, Stephen Sullivan, organized the construction of a depot and the sale of some land for a right-of-way, and in recognition of his services, the railroad named the new depot in his honor. The post office established the following year adopted the Sullivan name as well, though the earlier "Mount Helicon" designation would also remain in use for some time. (Members of both the Clark and Sullivan families would continue to reside in the community until at least the 1980s.)

Like much of Missouri, the Sullivan community suffered severely during the Civil War. It saw no actual combat, apart from a brief occupation by Confederate General Sterling Price's troops in 1864, but most of its residents had ties to the South and joined or sympathized with the Confederates, despite the consistent Union control in the region, and there was considerable strife as a result. Stephen Sullivan, the town's namesake, himself a Southern sympathizer and a slaveowner, was imprisoned by the Federal authorities for some time and had much of his property confiscated, and died not long after the war's end. The post-war period saw a quick revival for the town, though, supported by its railroad link to St. Louis and by a number of small manufacturing operations, mostly related to lumber processing and woodworking. Sullivan was first incorporated as a third-class city in 1883, and by 1900 could boast of having a bank, a newspaper, and a grand three-story hotel.

Sullivan expanded in size very rapidly during the mid-20th century, its population rising from just 909 in 1920 to 4,098 in 1960. Careful financial management by local business leaders meant it suffered less from the Great Depression than many other communities, and the completion of U.S. Route 66, following the old railroad route, in the 1920s brought it much prosperity from highway travelers. A small hospital opened in 1962, followed by a radio station, KTUI, in 1966. More recently, the replacement of Route 66 by Interstate 44 has produced another spur in business development, while the downtown section has been the focus of a revitalization project.

Geography

Sullivan is located along Interstate 44, with Missouri State Highway 185 skirting its northern and northwestern edges. Most of it lies in extreme southern Franklin County, though its southernmost neighborhoods extend into northern Crawford County. It is about six miles northeast of Bourbon and 14 miles southwest of St. Clair, and is contiguous with Oak Grove Village to the north. Its exact coordinates are 38°12’34”N 91°09’53”W.

The city lies about two miles west of the Meramec River, a source of considerable regional tourism; Meramec State Park and Meramec Caverns, an extensive cave system, are both just outside its boundaries. Sullivan has a total area of 7.90 square miles, and an average elevation of 981 feet.