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1965 Map of Achilles

Name: 1965 Topographic Map of Achilles
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1966
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1966

About this map

The settlement of Achilles serves as a focal point in this high-plains landscape of Rawlins County, appearing here as it did in the mid-1960s. The terrain is deeply defined by the dendritic drainage patterns of the Sappa Creek system, with the North Fork Sappa Creek, Middle Fork Sappa Creek, and South Fork Sappa Creek all carving winding paths across the township boundaries of Laing, Union, and Jefferson.

For local historians and genealogists, the map provides precise locations for the Achilles Cem and illustrates the sparse, rural infrastructure of the era, including a prominent Pipeline and an isolated Oil Well. These features, alongside a scattered network of unimproved dirt roads, reflect the essential connection between the agricultural land and the emerging natural resource extraction in western Kansas during this period.