Historic Ashland County

    The village of Sullivan, in fact the entire township, could be called an area in search of a county. According to histories compiled by the Rev. Newton Bates in 1927 and Vivian Cole in 1967, Sullivan was a part of Trumbull, Portage, Medina and Lorain counties before being incorporated into Ashland county in 1846.

Excerpt from an original article by Betty Plank

    Many were bitterly disappointed that Sullivan had not been chosen as the county seat. There was even a proposal that the northern townships unite to form still another county to be named Ellsworth after Oliver Ellsworth, the first surveyor of the territory.
    Sullivan named for Gen. John Sullivan, a Revolutionary War hero, was settled by several families from Dover, Vermont in 1817. They were joined by other families from the East, who were resettling on this land on the southern border of the Western Reserve Territory. Some tracts were granted to certain people whose land had been burned by the British. These were designated as the "Firelands".
    However, this section of the county could be called "Firelands" for another reason. No section with a population the size of Sullivan Township has suffered from more fires than it has. (Cont.)

    Frank Grahm, who had a photography studio in Sullivan for 40 years has provided several photographs from his collection. Two, taken about 50 years apart in the same general area show buildings destroyed by fire on March 21, 1950, resulting in a $75,000 loss.   
    The blaze destroyed the post office, Kerr Printing Co., Wilkey's General Store, Sullivan Hardware and a billiard parlor where the fire was believed to have originated.

An early Sullivan Main Street Photo

    The Kerr Family and the Wilkeys, who lived above their stores fled to safety. A passing truck driver discovered the flames at 4:45 a.m.
    On Nov. 16, 1953, the Congregational Church roof was ignited by a spark from an electric torch workmen were using to repair a gutter. Fire spread rapidly and the bulding, dedicated in 1905, became a total loss. Only the pulpit and an electric organ were salvaged.
    Parishioners mourned the loss of stained glass windows, many of which were given as memorials to the founders of the congregation in 1835. The loss was estimated at $75,000 to $90,000.
    Fire was to strike again on a Sunday afternoon, Jan. 30, 1955, when smoke was discovered coming from the Christian Church. Firefighters from several departments fought unsuccesfully to save the building. No cause for the fire was ever determined.
    Fires continued to plague the village when barns, a township building and a conservation building went up in flames. On Feb.17, 1960, the Masonic Temple building burned. arson was the cause of some of these blazes, and in in a few cases, the culprits were found and prosecuted. Causes of the others remain unsolved.
    Recently, another rash of fires has prompted the residents of the township to form a Fire and Crime Watch program.   (Back)