The story
Read it all →How Sullivan came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Sullivan.
A post office called Sullivan has been in operation since 1846. The village took its name from the Town of Sullivan.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
CHistory
History · Sullivan
12% of Sullivan’s homes were built before 1940
More historic than 32% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1892 on and the census since 1920.
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
About Sullivan’s history
How historic is Sullivan?
C
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 32% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
History grade
What drives Sullivan’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sullivan is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sullivan’s overall grade.
Founding eraNo founding year we can rely on, so the grade uses the other two–Homes built before 194011.5% of homes (±3.7) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%B−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 32%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Sullivan’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.7 points).
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Sullivan’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Sullivan are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Sullivan, and 4 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1995. Watch Sullivan change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Sullivan’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Sullivan’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.
Oak Hill
Rome
Erfurt
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Heath MillsOak HillRomeSlabtown
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside Sullivan
CrowderHardscrabbleHoffmanMcLeryNewtonPleasant ValleyRiverviewSaint Luke'sSaint Marys
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
On the map
Sullivan on the map, 1892 to 1995
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sullivan. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Whitewater sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Sullivan.
Timeline
Sullivan, 1847 to 1953
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1847Post officeThe Oak Hill post office opens
- 1850Post officeThe Rome post office opens
- 1861Post officeThe Erfurt post office opens
- 1892
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1893Post officeThe Erfurt post office closes
- 20th century
- 1904Post officeThe Oak Hill post office closes
- 1953Post officeThe Rome post office closes
By decade
Sullivan, decade by decade
2013
2013
2013
2013
2013People over time
Sullivan, census by census
Between 286 and 688 people in every census since 1920.
11 censuses, 1920–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Sullivan’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Sullivan
Nobody well known was born in Sullivan itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Sullivan’s history
How does Sullivan rank for history?
Sullivan is more historic than 32% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Sullivan?
12% of Sullivan’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.7 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1990.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.