Sullivan is a city that straddles the border of Franklin and Crawford counties in the U.S. state of Missouri.

Purchased according to provisions of the Act of Congress for the sale of public lands (dated April 1820).

In June 1856, Stephen & Dorcas Sullivan purchased the acreage, plus an additional 49 acres from Smith for the sum of $400.

On July 25, 1856, when a post office was established in present-day Sullivan, the local postmaster named the place "Mount Helicon".

In 1859, Stephen Sullivan donated ground for railroad right-of-way and built the depot himself.

[9] The Maj. Gen. William S. Harney Summer Home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

[10] Sullivan is located on the Franklin-Crawford county line at the intersection of Interstate 44 and Missouri Route 185.

[11] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.2 square miles (21.24 km2), all land.

The City of Sullivan provides services in the areas of electric distribution, water, sewer, streets, aviation, parks and recreation, engineering, economic development, solid waste collection and law enforcement with a total of 60 full-time employees.

The local tax levy of 43.39 cents and utility rates are among the lowest in the area.

[18] In 2014, a group of 15 white schoolgirls blackened their faces for a game of powderpuff football, prompting national media coverage.

[19] A few months prior, as protests took place in Ferguson, MO after the police killing of Michael Brown, the KKK held a rally in the Sullivan area, prompting the town's mayor to write a formal denouncement of racial bigotry in the area.

[20] Attempting to overcome past prejudices, the Sullivan Chamber of Commerce selected Stefan Wehmeyer, an African American, as the community's 2017 Man of the Year.

[23] However, the college's assessment reads that Sullivan is "probably not [still a sundown town], although very few Black people."

[25] St. Anthony Catholic School is a private institution which operates for Pre-K through eighth grade.