[4] Located in the Upper Schoodic Peninsula sub-region of Maine's Downeast Acadia region, the municipality has been known as[4] "Waukeag",[5] "New Bristol", and later Sullivan; and once included the nearby communities of Hancock, Sorrento, and what would later be (parts of Gouldsboro Point TWP, Tunk Lake TWP, the Schoodic Foothills, Hog Bay, and various other districts over time divided off) Township 7, South & Middle Districts.

Once home to abundant granite quarries, the town of Sullivan is now a residential community for nearby Ellsworth and Mount Desert Island.

Located along U.S. Route 1, the Taunton River, and Hog Bay, Sullivan is home to a reversing tidal falls and many scenic turnouts that dot the Schoodic National Scenic Byway along the Upper Schoodic Peninsula.

Sullivan, Maine, the gateway to the Schoodic Peninsula and the Downeast Acadia region, is composed of several villages and settlements, collectively termed "the Sullivans", or colloquially as "Sully"—similar to other New England municipalities such as: The town's inland area along Rte 200 (Bert Grey Road) in to the Schoodic Foothills is a mainly wooded area that boasts commercial and residential value, in addition to being the location of the municipal grade school, Mountain View School (K–8) which—as part of Schoodic Community Schools and RSU24—provides education (primary, middle, and junior high) to the Towns of Sullivan, Sorrento, and Franklin.

The Town is roughly 17 miles from the heart of Downtown Ellsworth, ME—the shire town of Hancock County—and approximately 35 miles by land from the Village Green in Bar Harbor, ME on Mount Desert Island, though from various points along its shoreline the Island can be easily seen and is, nautically and geographically, closer by sea than by land.

Ferry Service is available to and from the Schoodic region and may be accessed semi-seasonally (on a schedule) or by appointment (by change) in nearby Winter Harbor; some resources available to visitors can be found by contacting local Harbor Masters or business.

The Town of Sullivan, Maine's villages were featured in the novel Seven Steeples, which focused on the communities that grew surrounding the Chapels and Churches that served them.

"Schoodic" is the anglicized form of a Native American term of disputed origin, thought to mean (in one definition cited locally) as "where land and sea meet".

Waukeag, the distinct name for the Sullivan area, also is of Native origin, and roughly translates to "crossing place" or "horsehead", among other interpretations.

Maine's history as a disputed frontier territory between the British North American Colonies and French New France, and later a district of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (later Commonwealth) has provided the area with a distinctive, unique historic status.