Sullivan, Illinois


Sullivan is a city in Moultrie County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,440 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat and largest city of Moultrie County. Sullivan is named after Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, where Fort Moultrie is located.

History

Sullivan was founded in 1845. Two years after Sullivan was founded, the first official courthouse of the county was built. It was a simple two-story brick building with a hipped roof, and the county jail was housed in the basement. The village would come alive with gossip when court was in session. Abraham Lincoln passed through this first courthouse many times from 1849-1852 as he practiced law in the Moultrie County circuit court. The present courthouse has a mural depicting this first courthouse.
Sullivan had not been a logical site for a county seat. The village of Nelson had already been developed and the prairie in which Sullivan would be built had poor drainage and malaria-carrying mosquitoes. In 1844, it was determined that the location that would soon be Sullivan would become the county seat. Unfortunately, decades later Sullivan would prove to be too close to Decatur and Mattoon to thrive as an important area city.
The original village consisted of 40 acres bound by Jackson Street on the north, Water Street on the south, Douglas Street on the East, and Hamilton Street on the west. Sullivan's first school was built in 1846 with the first church being built in 1848.
When Abraham Lincoln was campaigning for senate against Stephen A. Douglas, he gave a speech in Freeland's Grove and there is a monument there commemorating his speech today. In 1858, during this senate campaign, a riot broke out on the town square between the supporters of Lincoln and the supporters of Douglas.
In 1864, a fire destroyed the first courthouse and a second, larger one was built that was in use until 1904, when it was demolished and the third, present-day courthouse was built. Along with the first courthouse building, hundreds of county records were lost.
Sullivan was also home to the Titus Opera House, built in 1871, which was located on the north side of the town square. Located on the second and third floors of the building, the large auditorium, balcony, and box seats could accommodate up to 800 patrons. The opera house was among the finest in the area, and it even hosted a concert given by the great Venezuelan pianist Teresa Carreño. Unfortunately, in the early morning of February 20, 1910, the opera house caught fire and burned to the ground. This marked the end of a live entertainment era in Sullivan until Guy S. Little Jr. founded The Little Theatre on the Square decades later.
Wyman Park, one of two parks on the north side of Sullivan, has an intriguing past. Albert Wyman, a man who immigrated to the United States from Germany, owned a shoe repair and sales shop on the west end of the town square. During the time Wyman was alive, Sullivan lacked a public park, so in his will he endowed much of his business profit to the city in order to purchase land for a park. While his will prohibited any kind of sales from occurring on the grounds of the new park, concession stands were built anyway.
The Moultrie County Historical and Genealogical Society, located in downtown Sullivan, houses a small museum of the county's past.

Geography

Sullivan is located at .
According to the 2010 census, the city has a total area of, all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 4,326 people, 1,820 households, and 1,188 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,121.5 people per square mile. There were 1,945 housing units at an average density of 953.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 98.68% White, 0.30% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.39% of the population.
There were 1,820 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.84.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 21.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $33,197, and the median income for a family was $41,894. Males had a median income of $31,754 versus $20,631 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,693. About 5.4% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Sullivan is home to Sullivan Community Unit School District 300 the sports teams have the nickname "Redskins."
The official school song is Northwestern University's "Go Northwestern," and the fight song is entitled "Hail Red and Black." The school fight song has lyrics written by a Sullivan High School alumnus, but the music was composed by Dr. Paul Van Buskirk Yoder, a notable composer, arranger, and band director of the twentieth century.

Points of interest

The Little Theatre on the Square

in Sullivan is a non-profit; it received $20,000 from President Barack Obama's 2009 economic stimulus package,. In 2013, it received $23,200 from the Illinois Arts Council for general operating expenses.

Abraham Lincoln Memorial

When Abraham Lincoln was campaigning for senate against Stephen A. Douglas, he gave a speech on September 20th 1858 in Freeland's Grove and there is a monument there commemorating his speech today.

Ward Museum

The Ward Museum at Mason Point, a nursing home just east of Sullivan, displays a collection of items collected from around the world by the Ward family, including one of the largest collections of seashells in the nation. The Ward's collection went on display in 1948, and the collection has remained intact since then. It was featured on an episode of the TV show "Illinois Adventure." The museum was established by Abraham Lincoln "Link" Ward, a farmer, livestock dealer, and auctioneer as well as his wife, Cora Anne Ward. In addiitoin to seashells, the museum contains over 1,000 pieces of antique glassware, including 400 antique goblets. Frontier life items include wooden wheel clocks, circa 1830, copper-toed shoes, spinning wheels, and broad axes. The museum was established in 1948; Cora Ward died in 1967, and the executor of her estate burned the catalog compilation, so the origin of the over 5,000 items donated by the couple, who travelled widely, is unknown.

Nixon Rally and Buffalo Burger

Vice President Richard Nixon held a campaign rally during his unsuccessful 1960 Presidential bid. He discarded a half-eaten buffalo burger that was the product of the slaughter of buffalo owned by the City of Sullivan and housed at their street maintenance facility. The discarded burger was retrieved by Sullivan resident Steve Jenne, who preserved it. Jenne exhibited the burger on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in 1988 and was a guest on the Game Show Network's "I've Got A Secret" in 2006.

City budget, public debt, and Tax Increment Financing Districts

The City of Sullivan has three TIFs." TIF funds are reserved for areas that are "blighted" or in danger of becoming blighted. In 2010, the City of Sullivan issued $8.3 million in bonds by pledging previously unencumbered real estate increment generated annually by the City's three TIF districts. Recipients of TIF funds in 2013 were reported in the City of Sullivan's Resolution 13-E, which is available online. An auditor from West & Company, L.L.C. stated before the Sullivan City Council on January 28, 2013 that revenue that the City of Sullivan receives from the State of Illinois that is designated as TIF sales tax will be used to pay off these bonds. The audit evaluated the City of Sullivan's current financial condition as "stable to sound," meaning that it is able to meet its obligations on a daily basis, but that it does not have much room for error in financial decisions. An auditor addressing the Sullivan City Council on January 7, 2014, noted that the City received its final quarterly TIF District 1 Sales Tax Payment from the State of Illinois, in June 2013; this means that the $400,000 to $500,000 in TIF funds that the Sullivan was receiving annually for TIF Funds will no longer be available for TIF projects, and now must go directly into the city's general fund.

Notable people