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Bowlesville

Ghost town · Gallatin County, Illinois

Shawneetown quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1916, 1:62,500)
Shawneetown quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1916, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Bowlesville is a ghost town in Gallatin County, Illinois. It is one of 2 former communities in Gallatin County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 33rd among the 78 Illinois counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Bowlesville as a historical populated place on the Shawneetown topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 37.6742° N, 88.2125° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleShawneetown
Elevation428 ft
Nearest living townShawneetown, IL
Distance to it3.2 miles
GNIS feature ID1810989
Coordinates37.67421, -88.21254

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Bowlesville is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Shawneetown, IL (population 1,167), about 3.2 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 428 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Bowlesville?

Bowlesville is in Gallatin County, Illinois, at 37.6742, -88.2125.

How many ghost towns are in Gallatin County?

Gallatin County, Illinois has 2 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.