Sullivan County Indiana has 8 places on the National Register of Historic Places including 1 place of National significance. Significant places include Merom Site and Fort Azatlan, Daugherty-Monroe Archaeolgical Site (12SU13), Sherman Building, Sullivan County Courthouse and Sullivan County Poor Home.
Prehistoric cultural affiliation(s) include Early Woodland, Allison-Lamotte Culture and Mississippian dating back to 0.
Some of the country's most noteable architects helped create the Sullivan County places including O. H. Wheelock, John Bayard, F.J. Nicholas, Cuthbert J. Sherman, Wing & Manhurin, Walter Heath and G. W. Webster. Prominent architectural styles found in Sullivan Country are Beaux Arts, Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals and Late 19th Century.
Historic Significance:
Information Potential
Area of Significance:
Prehistoric
Cultural Affiliation:
Mississippian, Woodland
Period of Significance:
1499-1000 AD
Historic Function:
Defense, Domestic, Funerary
Historic Sub-function:
Fortification, Graves/Burials, Single Dwelling
Current Function:
Agriculture/Subsistence, Funerary
Current Sub-function:
Cemetery
The Merom Site, historically referred to as "Fort Azatlan," is a highly significant prehistoric archaeological site situated atop a dramatic 170-foot bluff overlooking the Wabash River in Sullivan County, Indiana. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, the site features a complex of earthworks, including mounds, circular depressions, and enclosure-like embankments that date primarily to the Woodland period, with significant occupation associated with the Allison-LaMotte culture (circa A.D. 100?600). The strategic upland location offered its prehistoric inhabitants not only commanding views and defensive advantages, but also excellent access to the diverse resources of both the river valley and the surrounding upland forests, making it a major regional center for habitation, ceremony, and mortuary activity.
Historically, the site captured public imagination in the 19th century when State Geologist John Collett mapped the earthworks in 1870 and romantically dubbed them "Fort Azatlan," reflecting the popular contemporary myth that the complex was a defensive fortress built by a "Mound Builder" civilization linked to the Aztecs of Mexico. While modern scientific archaeology has debunked these early speculative theories, the site remains of paramount archaeological significance. Its exceptionally well-preserved stratigraphic layers, floral and faunal remains, and cultural artifacts provide researchers with invaluable data regarding the settlement patterns, trade networks, subsistence strategies, and social organization of the Native American societies that inhabited the Wabash River Valley over a thousand years ago.
