Rand McNally Official 1922 Auto Trails Map District No 21

The roads of the Southeast in the early 1920s.

From the late 1910s through the mid-1920s, the Chicago-based publishing firm of Rand McNally regularly issued a series of ‘Auto Trails’ maps covering different parts of the United States. These convenient guides were marketed to the growing number of automobile tourists nationwide and offered a detailed, pocket-sized snapshot of road surfaces, traveler amenities, and locations of interest. The Auto Trails refer to the patchwork network of privately sponsored/organized routes that predated the implementation of the National Numbered Highway System in 1926. The markings used to denote these early highways (plus those used by existing state infrastructure) are illustrated for easy identification.

This is an excellent example of the 1922 edition of the Rand McNally Auto Trail map covering District Number 21, the United States southeast of Memphis and New Orleans. One side of the sheet shows the majority of the deep Southern States – Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and the upper part of Florida. The verso includes the rest of the Florida peninsula (a tremendously popular tourist destination, at the time), plus a small inset of the island of Cuba.

Each side uses red overprinting to note recommended hotels, restaurants, auto dealers, and garages – symbiotic corporate relationships that would become an integral part of motor tourism of the 20th century. Small triangles denote the location of Free Campgrounds. These rudimentary campsites were some of the few available Accommodations for those who did not want to pay for hotels in larger cities.