South Central Official AAA Tour Book

Depression-era road guide to the South Central United States, issued by AAA.

This substantial travel guide provides a remarkably thorough, turn-by-turn look at the roads and tourism infrastructure of the American South and Central states at the dawn of the 1930s. Published by the American Automobile Association (AAA) for the 1930 season, this specific volume covers a wide geographic territory, including Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and parts of adjoining states. By 1930, the Automobile Blue Books had ceased publication, leaving the annual AAA Tour Books as the definitive, trusted authority for long-distance motorists navigating the rapidly expanding American highway network.

The content of the guide is dense and highly practical for the interwar driver. It includes hundreds of detailed log routes, descriptive text for towns and cities, population statistics, and recommended AAA-approved hotels, garages, and service stations. Most notably, the book features numerous graphic “strip maps” and regional route maps. These clear, black-and-white diagrams map out transit corridors, highlighting the location of towns, sharp turns, railroad crossings, and connections to the newly established federal numbered highway system. Additionally, the guide contains a wealth of local period advertisements and regional tourist information, painting a vivid picture of commercial hospitality just as the Great Depression was beginning to take hold.