Editing Sullivan County, Indiana (section)

==History==
On February 25, 1779, Col. [[George Rogers Clark]] captured [[Fort Sackville]] at [[Vincennes, Indiana|Vincennes]] from the British. About {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} west at Pointe Coupee on the [[Wabash River]] on March 2, 1779, Capt. [[Leonard Helm]] commanding three boats and 50 volunteers from Vincennes captured a reinforcement fleet of seven boats carrying 40 soldiers and valuable supplies and Indian trade goods. This small naval battle completed the destruction of British military strength in the [[Wabash Valley]].

The county's first settlement occurred between 1808 and 1812, by a religious society of celibates known as [[Shakers]]. The 400 members of this communal group occupied {{convert|1300|acre|km2|0}}, {{convert|7|mi|km|spell=in}} west of [[Carlisle, Indiana|Carlisle]].

General [[William Henry Harrison]]’s army made its last camp in Sullivan County at Big Springs on September 29, 1811. Harrison used Benjamin Turman's fort as his headquarters. With spring water available, it was an ideal location for 1000 men, including 160 dragoons and 60 mounted riflemen. A [[Kentucky]] soldier killed a fellow Kentuckian, Clark, either accidentally or in a grudge fight. The deceased was buried at the top of a hill that became the Mann Turman Cemetery. General Harrison and his troops continued north on the Wea Indiana Trail to build Fort Harrison and then proceeded to the [[Battle of Tippecanoe]].

A [[War of 1812]] military action occurred in September 1812, {{convert|3|mi|km|spell=in}} west−southwest of Sullivan County. While escorting supplies from [[Fort Knox]] near Vincennes to Fort Harrison at [[Terre Haute, Indiana|Terre Haute]], Sergeant Nathan Fairbanks and approximately a dozen soldiers were ambushed - and most killed - by [[Native Americans in the United States|Indians]].

In 1815, [[Carlisle, Indiana|Carlisle]] was founded.

An act of the Indiana legislature dated December 30, 1816, created Sullivan County, with areas partitioned from [[Knox County, Indiana|Knox County]]. The effective date of the new government was January 15, 1817, with interim commissioners charged to begin organizing the new government in February.{{sfn|Wolfe|1909|p=7}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Organization Of Sullivan County|url=http://sctb.net/Historical_history.htm|website=Sullivan County, Indiana|publisher=Sullivan County Historical Society|access-date=July 12, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sullivan County, Indiana|url=http://www.stats.indiana.edu/profiles/profiles.asp?scope_choice=a&county_changer=18153|website=STATS Indiana|publisher=Indiana Business Research Center|access-date=July 12, 2014}}</ref> It was named for [[Daniel Sullivan (frontiersman)|Daniel Sullivan]], a prominent frontiersman killed in 1790 by Native Americans while carrying a dispatch between [[Vincennes, Indiana|Fort Vincennes]] and [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]].

A log [[courthouse]] in [[Merom, Indiana|Merom]] served as Sullivan County's first county seat from 1819 to 1842. Merom was an important river port and a stop on the stage route known as The Old Harrison Trail. William Henry Harrison's troops camped near here on their 1811 march to the Battle of Tippecanoe.

Pioneer heroine of abdominal surgery Jane Todd is buried in Sullivan County. Born in [[Virginia]] in 1763, she and her husband, Thomas Crawford, moved to [[Green County, Kentucky]], in 1805. Suffering from a huge abdominal [[tumor]], she rode {{convert|60|mi|km|-1}} to [[Danville, Kentucky]], to submit to a never−before−performed surgical procedure. On Christmas Day 1809, [[Ephraim McDowell|Dr. Ephraim McDowell]] performed the first [[ovariotomy]], in his home. The ordeal lasted 25 minutes. There was no [[anesthesia]]. Mrs. Crawford recovered completely and years later came to [[Graysville, Indiana|Graysville]] to live with her son, Thomas, a [[Presbyterian]] minister. She died in 1842 at age 78. The restored [[Ephraim McDowell House|McDowell home]] in Danville, Kentucky, is a surgical shrine.

[[Sullivan, Indiana|Sullivan]] was founded in 1853 and became the [[county seat]].

Dedicated in 1862, [[Union Christian College, Merom|Union Christian College]] served as a [[University-preparatory school|preparatory school]] and [[college]] until 1924. In 1936 it became [[Merom Institute]]—a rural enrichment center. Now owned by the [[United Church of Christ]], it serves as a camp, conference, and retreat center.

Numerous violent conflicts erupted in Sullivan County during the [[American Civil War]] over differing war sentiments. On July 14, 1864, [[anti-war]] [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] John Drake was fatally shot at a community picnic near here.

In November 1902, a mob abducted [[Lynching of James Dillard|James Dillard]] from the Sullivan County sheriff, John S. Dudley, as he was being taken to Sullivan. After kidnapping Dillard, they lynched him.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Tribune-Star |first=Lisa Trigg |title=One lynching each recorded in Sullivan, Vigo histories |url=https://www.tribstar.com/news/local_news/one-lynching-each-recorded-in-sullivan-vigo-histories/article_4433bdf3-3e5f-5ca5-ac80-64835d57340d.html |access-date=April 15, 2022 |website=Terre Haute Tribune-Star |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=McCormick |first=Mike |date=November 17, 2002 |title=A lynching, fightin' women, and a visit from Eugene V. Debs mark 100 years ago |work=Terre Haute Tribune Star |url=https://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/vcpl/id/10362/rec/1 |access-date=April 15, 2022}}</ref> In response to the lynching, Governor Winfield Durbin dismissed the sheriff - a decision which was in line with Indiana's 1899 anti-lynching law.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Madison |first=James H. |title=A Lynching in the Heartland: Race and Memory in America |publisher=Palgrave |year=2001 |location=New York |pages=18–19}}</ref> However, Sheriff Dudley ultimately remained in office after he and other officials entered into a legal battle about the decision.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cutler |first=James Elbert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSgKAAAAIAAJ&q=sullivan+county+sheriff+indiana+trial+1902.&pg=PA250 |title=Lynch-law: An Investigation Into the History of Lynching in the United States |date=1905 |publisher=Longmans, Green, and Company |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

Organized nationally to bring culture to rural communities, [[Merom, Indiana|Merom's]] 10-day religious and educational [[Chautauqua]] event featured concerts, debates, plays, and lectures. [[Carrie Nation]], [[William Jennings Bryan]], [[William Howard Taft]], [[Warren G. Harding]], and [[Billy Sunday]] were among its speakers.

On February 20, 1925, an explosion occurred at the Sullivan City Mine, killing 51.<ref>{{cite journal |editor1-last=Nystrom |editor1-first=Eric |title=In the Aftermath of Tragedy:  Herschel Wence and the 1925 City Mine Disaster, Sullivan County, Indiana |journal=The Mining History Journal |date=2014 |volume=21 |pages=22-29 |url=https://www.mininghistoryassociation.org/Journal/MHJ-v21-2014-Nystrom.pdf |access-date=2 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Cummings |first1=Molly |title=100th anniversary of Sullivan City Mine explosion next month |url=https://www.mywabashvalley.com/news/local-news/100th-anniversary-of-sullivan-city-mine-explosion-next-month/ |website=MyWabashValley.com |access-date=2 February 2025 |date=31 January 2025}}</ref>

In 1968, the Sullivan County Park and Lake was created. It contains a {{convert|468|acre|km2|1|adj=on}} [[reservoir]] for swimming, boating, and fishing. The lake is stocked with [[crappie]], hybrid [[saugeye]], [[bass (fish)|bass]], [[bluegill]], and [[channel catfish]]. [[Water skiing]] is popular. Sullivan County Park and Lake has {{convert|400|acre|km2|1}} of land for [[camping]] and a 9-hole [[golf]] course. The campground offers sites ranging from primitive camping to space for [[recreational vehicle|motor homes]].