Achilles, Kansas Buildings.
Achilles, Kansas, on Sappa Creek, in Jefferson Township of Rawlins County, is an extinct town, as its post office closed decades ago. The town is gone today.
When its post office was established on October 23, 1879, Armstead Morris named it for his father, Achilles Morris, who was not a Kansas resident.
The townsite was laid out by Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Rush in 1887, at which time the settlement had a population of 75. Many of the lots were purchased by businessmen from Atwood, as it was rumored that a railroad was going to come through Achilles. However, no railroad tracks were laid in the area, and the town didn’t grow much more.
In 1910, it was the principal trading point in the southwestern part of the county. At that time, it had a money order post office and was connected by stagecoach with Colby, from which it received daily mail, and its population was 70. Shortly after a fire in 1911 that destroyed the Field and Badgley Store, the town began to lose its population.
An old one-room schoolhouse still stands in Achilles, Kansas.
Over the years, business in Achilles supported two general stores, including Hill General Store, a variety store, a blacksmith shop, a barbershop, a mechanics garage, and a creamery. These were lined along Main Street. These buildings are all gone today. Off Main Street stood a Methodist Church, later moved to Atwood and used for a home.
In 1915, with the railroad bypassing Achilles and the increasing use of the automobile, Achilles further declined. Most of the businesses were defunct by the mid- to late-1930s.
Its post office closed on June 30, 1951.
In about 1999, the remains of the frame of a general store were burned, erasing all signs of Main Street. All that is left of the town today is the old Achilles one-room schoolhouse, which is still used for community events. Nearby Achilles Cemetery acknowledges many of the pioneers who settled the area.
Achilles, Kansas Cemetery, courtesy of FindaGrave.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of Kansas, August 2025.
Also See:
Extinct Towns of Rawlins County
Rawlins County, Kansas
Sources:
Achilles Facebook
Blackmar, Frank W.; Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Vol I; Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, IL 1912.
Wikipedia