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Achilles

Ghost town · Rawlins County, Kansas

Achilles quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1951, 1:62,500)
Achilles quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1951, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Achilles is a ghost town in Rawlins County, Kansas, recorded as human settlement in Rawlins County, Kansas, United States of America. It is one of 7 former communities in Rawlins County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 4th among the 59 Kansas counties with a vanished settlement on record.

At its height the population reached about 83.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Achilles as a historical populated place: 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 39.7119° N, 100.8364° W.

In old newspapers

The earliest digitized newspaper pages printed in Kansas before 1931 that mention “Achilles”, from the Library of Congress. A page may use the name for something else; open it to read the context. 427 pages in all.

Key facts

Peak population83
Last recorded population83
Elevation2,848 ft
Nearest living townLudell, KS
Distance to it11.9 miles
Coordinates39.71194, -100.83639

Open the location on a map

Then and now

Drag the slider: the old USGS map on the left, the same ground from the air today on the right. Both cover the same 1.9-mile square centred on the recorded location.

Achilles today, aerial view
Achilles quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1951, 1:62,500)

Left: Achilles quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1951, 1:62,500), U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection. Right: The same ground today: NAIP aerial imagery, USDA Farm Service Agency, National Agriculture Imagery Program (via USGS). Both public domain.

What's there now

Achilles is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Ludell, KS (population 14), about 11.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 2,848 feet above sea level. The aerial view above shows what covers the ground today. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Achilles?

Achilles is in Rawlins County, Kansas, at 39.7119, -100.8364.

How many ghost towns are in Rawlins County?

Rawlins County, Kansas has 7 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 2026-11-06.