On February 7th, 1850 a fire destroyed the courthouse at Sullivan and virtually all its records. Sullivan County’s central location and recreation are its trademarks.  Located in southwestern Indiana, the county is bordered by Illinois and the Wabash River to the west, Vigo County to the north, Greene County to the east and Knox to the south.  Sullivan city located in the center of the county, population around 5000, is the county seat and is located on U.S. 41, intersected by Hwy. 154 and is only 26 miles south of I-70.  Sullivan County, with all its lakes and parks along with its ease of access, has become one of the leading recreational counties in this area of the Midwest.  The county is made up predominantly of lakes, farm ground and coal mines.  The Turtle Creek Fish and Wildlife Area, centered around Hoosier Energy Merom Generating Stations, 1700 acre lake has become well known nationally for its fishing and hunting.   The Minnehaha Recreation Area under the management of the State DNR sports 12,500 acres of boating, hunting and fishing.  The Greene-Sullivan County Forest allows boating, fishing and hunting among its 600 acres of lakes.  Seven-hundred and sixty-six acres of water sports are available in the Shakamak State Park in northeast Sullivan County, along with the stripper pits and forests throughout the county.  Sullivan County Park and Lake contains 461 acres of water and 400 acres of land for camping, swimming, boating and fishing as well as a 9 hole golf course.  Complementing these various camping, hunting and fishing facilities around the county is the Sullivan City Park with a swimming pool and nicely built community building.

Historically, industry of Sullivan County has centered on agriculture and coal mining. The Amax and Peabody coal company has strip mined large sections of eastern Sullivan leaving many lakes and reclaimed areas.   One large power plant, Hoosier Energy’s Merom Generating Station is located on the western side of the county.

Industries have grown with the county over the past several years.  Several machine and welding shops within the county service the area, along with chemical processing and bulk plants, plastic product and manufacturing plants and several saw mills.  There are three banks with branch offices throughout the county.  Harris Bank, Fifth Third Bank and First Farmers State Bank.

The counties energy needs are serviced by Duke Energy, Win energy and several gas companies throughout the county.

Sullivan County’s medical needs are met by Sullivan County Community Hospital. Several doctors are in the area along with Home Health Care and Nursing Home facilities.

Sullivan County has two School districts, consisting of the Northeast and Southwest School Corporations.  These corporations represent three high schools and seven elementary schools.  Sullivan County is also home to the first Rural Charter School sponsored by Ball State University.  The school is located in the former Graysville School building in Graysville, Indiana.

Civil and criminal protection is provided by the county sheriff’s department with several deputies.  Some of the towns in the county have marshals.  The city of Sullivan has one chief and several deputies.  These groups are assisted by the Indiana State Police and several State Conservation officers.  Fire protection is provided by the Sullivan City, an East Side City dept. along with ten volunteer fire departments throughout the county.  The Sullivan County Emergency Management provides security, warning system training courses, emergency and disaster aid and shelter to the county.  The Civil Defense can be mobilized in time of fire, flood, earthquake, tornado, winter storms, hazardous material spills or whenever the community is in need of assistance.

Sullivan County government consists of three county commissioners and seven county council members.  Each incorporated town has a town board or mayor and council.

Sullivan County Airport has a 4,300 ft runway - 75 ft. wide with a parallel taxi way.  Approximately 150 - 170 planes use this runway a month.  Rental Planes, airplane rides, flight instruction, charter service are some of the services they provide. 100 LL and Jet Fuel is available at the airport.

Libraries of Sullivan County consist of the Hymera Public Library, Sullivan County Public Library located in Sullivan and its five branches are Merom, Carlisle, Shelburn, Dugger, and Farmersburg.  

The population of Sullivan County is around 20,000 and the incorporated towns populations are as follows: Shelburn - 1,147,  Merom - 280, Hymera - 771,  Farmersburg - 1,159, Dugger - 936, Carlisle - 613 and Sullivan - 4.500.