Official Paved Road and Commercial Survey of the United States

Introducing the Numbered Highway System to the masses of American motorists.

This commercial road atlas of the United States was published by the National Map Company of Indianapolis around 1927. It captures the American transportation network at a major turning point, coming out just a couple of years after the federal government organized the numbered U.S. highway system. The volume serves as a clear historical record of the country’s roads, towns, and early transit infrastructure during the late 1920s boom, right before free gas station maps became common.

The contents are organized into several distinct sections, beginning with national specialty maps. This includes a dedicated map highlighting the growing system of National Parks, which were becoming major tourist destinations for the early road-tripping public. It also features a map and information section regarding the Air Express Service, charting early domestic airmail and commercial flight routes. This was a brand-new technology at the time, and the accompanying text explains exactly how the early air delivery system operated.

The main body of the atlas provides a dual look at each state. First, every state is given its own full-page, multi-colored political map that focuses on county lines, towns, railroads, and local population data. Second, the atlas provides ten large “sectional road maps” that group the country into multi-state regions. These highly detailed maps focus entirely on the highway network, using different line styles to show which roads were fully paved, which were still just gravel or dirt, and how the new federal highway numbers were being laid out over the older, named auto trails.