Editing Sullivan County, Missouri (section)

==History==
In 1682, [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle]] claimed the [[Louisiana (New France)|territory west of the Mississippi River]] for [[France]], which included present-day Sullivan County. The United States acquired this region under terms of the [[Louisiana Purchase]] on July 4, 1803. Twenty-one years later, the [[Sauk people|Sauk]], [[Meskwaki]], and [[Iowa people|Iowa]] Native American nations ceded their tribal land to the U.S. government under two treaties in August 1824.

Dr. Jacob Holland and his son, Robert W. Holland, arrived in 1836, becoming the county's first permanent White settlers. Dr. Holland, a veteran of the [[Black Hawk War]] and practitioner of herbal medicine, and son staked their home sites at the Main Locust Creek Settlement near a place called Scottsville.<ref>[http://sullivan.mogenweb.org/settlements.html MOGenWeb Project, Sullivan County, Missouri, ''Early Settlements of Sullivan County'']</ref> [[American pioneer]]s from [[Ohio]], [[Illinois]], [[Kentucky]], [[Tennessee]], and [[Virginia]] quickly followed them and established farms and small businesses at Pharsalia (Milan) Settlement, Yellow Creek Settlement, and Jackson's Corners (Jacksonville) by 1840.

The Missouri state legislature defined the boundaries of the county from [[Chariton County, Missouri|Chariton County]] during the 1842–1843 legislative session, and first named it Highland County. However, the number of permanent settlers did not meet requirements for civil governance and military purposes, so legislators attached administration of Highland County to [[Linn County, Missouri|Linn County]]. A new survey of the county in 1844 determined that the population was sufficient to permit full organization. E.M.C. Morelock, a representative from Highland County, presented an act to the state legislature, which they approved on February 14, 1845, and the county became formally organized. By the same act, it was renamed Sullivan County in honor of [[John Sullivan (general)|John Sullivan]], a [[major general]] in the [[Continental Army]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Sterling|first=Bill|title=Sullivan County (Communities)|url=http://www.sullivancountymissouri.com/history2.php#sullivancounty|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106195308/http://sullivancountymissouri.com/history2.php#sullivancounty|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 6, 2009|work=Community Histories|publisher=SullivanCountyMissouri.com|access-date=September 14, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sullivan.mogenweb.org/|title=Sullivan County, Missouri|publisher=MOGenWeb|access-date=November 25, 2014}}</ref>

Settlers established the town of [[Milan, Missouri|Milan]] (pronounced MY-lun) in 1845, located at the center of the county, where the first courts met. William Putnam built the first courthouse, which was occupied in October 1847. Ten years later, residents leveled an [[Indian mound]] in the middle of town to make the public square and Major John McCollough built the second courthouse, the first brick structure in Milan, on this site during 1857–1858.<ref>[http://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=UED62 University of Missouri Extension, ''Encyclopedia of Missouri Courthouses''], Sullivan County Courthouse. Retrieved September 14, 2011.</ref>  (This courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1908 and it was not until 1938 that it was replaced by the three-story limestone building that stands today.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sterling|first=Bill|title=Courthouse History|url=http://www.sullivancountymissouri.com/courthouse.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050517115909/http://www.sullivancountymissouri.com/courthouse.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 17, 2005|work=County History|publisher=SullivanCountyMissouri.com|access-date=September 14, 2011}}</ref>) The last [[United States General Land Office]] established in Missouri also operated from the square from 1849 to 1859. The state legislature officially incorporated the city of Milan on February 8, 1859. Other towns platted in the county's early years included [[Greencastle, Missouri|Greencastle]] (1857), [[Newtown, Missouri|Newtown]] (1858), [[Pollock, Missouri|Pollock]] (1873), Boynton and Cora (1877), [[Green City, Missouri|Green City]] and [[Winigan, Missouri|Winigan]] (1880), [[Humphreys, Missouri|Humphreys]] and [[Reger, Missouri|Reger]] (1881), [[Osgood, Missouri|Osgood]] (1886), and [[Harris, Missouri|Harris]] (1887). Green City College opened in 1885, and a business institute opened in Humphreys in 1884.

During the [[American Civil War|U.S. Civil War]] (1861–1865), a [[Union Army]] post stood in Milan. The Union cause was supported by four Union volunteer infantry regiments, two Union cavalry volunteer regiments, two Missouri Militia units, one provisional militia unit, and a large unit of Sullivan County Home Guards. The [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] side was supported by four units of Missouri State Guard infantrymen.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sterling|first=Bill|title=Sullivan County Civil War Regiments|url=http://www.sullivancountymissouri.com/civilwar/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110116163832/http://www.sullivancountymissouri.com/civilwar/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 16, 2011|work=County History|publisher=SullivanCountyMissouri.com|access-date=September 14, 2011}}</ref> Soldiers from Sullivan County fought at the [[Battle of Shiloh]], [[Battle of Atlanta]], [[Battle of Jonesborough]], and other major engagements throughout the war. Military skirmishes within the county were mostly confined to [[bushwhacker]]s.

Expansion of the [[railroad]]s brought growth to Sullivan County beginning in the 1870s. The C., B. & K.C. (Chicago, Burlington and Kansas City Railway) built a line running north to south through the county in 1876, which was followed by construction of the Quincy, Missouri & Pacific Railway line east to west through the county from 1878 to 1881. The two lines crossed in Milan, which became a major shipping point. The [[Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway]] soon built a north–south line along Medicine Creek the length of the western edge of the county that served the towns of [[Newtown, Missouri|Newtown]] and [[Harris, Missouri|Harris]], which continues to be active today. (All three railroads eventually merged into the [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad]].)

By 1900, following the railroad construction boom, the county's population exceeded 20,000. However, business activity and the number of residents declined steadily during the subsequent decades. The number of farms decreased from about 3,100 in 1900 to under 900 by 1982, but over the same time period, the size of farms increased from about 130 acres to 385 acres. The county primarily remains rural agricultural land today, planted in corn and grains with family operated poultry, livestock, and dairy farms.<ref>United States Department of Agriculture, ''Soil Survey of Sullivan County, Missouri'', April 1985</ref> One medium size manufacturer in Milan employs about 750 people.