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New Athens

Ghost town · Edgar County, Illinois

Kansas quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1946, 1:62,500)
Kansas quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1946, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

New Athens is a ghost town in Edgar County, Illinois. It is one of 4 former communities in Edgar County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 11th among the 78 Illinois counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists New Athens as a historical populated place on the Brocton 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 39.6467° N, 87.9467° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleBrocton
Elevation664 ft
Nearest living townOakland, IL
Distance to it4.4 miles
GNIS feature ID1808114
Coordinates39.64670, -87.94670

Open the location on a map

What's there now

New Athens is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Oakland, IL (population 948), about 4.4 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 664 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is New Athens?

New Athens is in Edgar County, Illinois, at 39.6467, -87.9467.

How many ghost towns are in Edgar County?

Edgar County, Illinois has 4 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.