Today, many people use GPS programs to find their way, but back when the automobile first came into existence, the road map became an essential tool to finding their way around. Prior to the mid-1890s, bicyclists were the ones who demanded good road maps. The systematic mapping of roads and the installation of route signs by the U.S. Government didn’t occur until the automobile arrived. But as the new century dawned, the number of automobiles on American roads began to increase and so did the demand for accurate road maps. The Chicago Times-Herald printed the first automobile road map in the country for a race they sponsored from Chicago to Waukegan.

Originally, drivers purchased gasoline for their automobiles in barrels and brought it home or pumped it out of a barrel at a grocer or dry goods store. While historians dispute the location of the first true drive-up service station, some contend it was a Standard Oil of California station that opened in Seattle in 1907. Others believe that the Gulf Refining Company of Pittsburgh built and operated the first modern service station in Pennsylvania in 1913. They also believe that this Gulf Station handed out the first free road map.

In 1918, Wisconsin’s state legislature created a numbered highway system., which the federal government adopted in 1926. This new national highway system included such legendary roads as Route 66 and California’s scenic Highway 1. Rand McNally became the first major map publisher to adopt the system, which it also helped promote by installing numbered signs along these national roadways.

Before the 1920s, road maps between cities were uncommon. A major problem with all road maps before that time was that few marked streets. It wasn’t until automobiles became more widespread that both street maps and road signs became essential. Companies like B.F. Goodrich paid for the posting of street signs.

Some of the most rare and most historically interesting service station maps are those produced between 1920 and the end of World War II. This golden age of service station maps produced some with superb Art Deco designs and images of old autos. After the War, and especially with the expansion of the federal highway system in the 1950s, illustrations on maps featured dynamic scenes and graphics printed in vibrant colors. But after 1965, the quality of service station maps declined until their virtual disappearance in the 1980s.

Oil producers such as Esso, Chevron, Shell, Gulf, Standard, Texaco, and Socony- Vacuum—later known as Mobil—all distributed maps. In addition, banks, auto clubs, and tourist agencies gave out maps to their customers and members.

Road maps belong to the growing category of collectibles called "petroliana," or anything to do with gas stations and the petroleum industry. For the most part, they’re reasonably priced, and some estimate that during their peak service stations distributed over eight billion. Oil companies provided them as a service. They were made to be disposable, marked up by the gas station attendant as he gave directions and sent his customer on their way. But people often saved maps as souvenirs of the trips they made.

As automobiles proliferated, the marking of routes changed. Before numbered roads, stripes of paint on telephone poles, fence posts, or trees delineated the various routes, such as the Kit Carson Trail, the Red Ball Route, the Dixie Highway, and the Bee Line.

In 1925, states began numbering their roads. At first it was an adventure to drive, but by the 1930s it had turned into a method of tourism. Tourist cabins and cafés sprang up along the way, as motorists made their way across country. Historians consider this time the road map’s golden age.

The Sinclair Oil Company hired noted artists like Peter Helck, who also produced advertising illustrations for car companies. Maps featured images of a carefree and playful life on the road, with service stations welcoming children and dogs, many of which were Scottish terriers, like the ones popular in movies like "The Thin Man." Map covers also featured idyllic illustrations of gently rolling hills and beckoning horizons.

Map images also showed the cleanliness of station restrooms and the helpfulness of their attendants. In those days, customers who purchased gas also got their windows cleaned and oil checked free of charge. Maps often displayed images of attendants playing with children and pets before handing the driver a free map and sending him on his merry way.

In the 1920s, maps also often showed airplanes, boats and other exciting vehicles that used the fuel and oil produced by the company issuing the map. Graphic design became more sophisticated by the 1930s, often believed to have been the golden era of the map.

Among the most sought-after items are the large five-panel maps of the 1930s issued by the Sinclair Oil Company, which hired artists like Peter Helck, a well-known painter also noted for his advertising illustrations for car companies.

Maps produced during World War II reminded motorists to slow down to save tires. After the War, maps featured dynamic scenes, vibrant colors, and great graphics.

By the baby booming 1950s, the images tended to show nuclear families—a mom, dad, son and daughter, all enjoying life on the road. During the 1960s, maps displayed the dotted lines of planned Interstates and aerial views of highway cloverleafs.

Three companies—Rand McNally, H. M. Gousha, and General Drafting— produced most of the service station maps. These became a vehicle through which oil companies could promote the service at their stations, for it was service that differentiated them.

General Drafting produced maps for Esso, whose attendants handed out some 34.5 million maps in 1965. After 1965, the quality of service station maps declined until their virtual disappearance in the 1980s.

Today, of course, free maps are long gone. They faded away, along with so many other aspects of the highway culture, with the 1973 energy crisis.

Road maps, especially the ones produced by oil companies for their service stations, are highly collectible. People collect road maps for many reasons. Some use them to document local history, some assemble collections of rare service stations, and others assemble a complete station series for the US. Many gas station maps are cross collectibles. In other cases, their covers may coincide with major events, like World's Fairs, or because they show Disney characters, or because they reflect local historical events, like Civil War battles.

It’s often possible to date service station road maps by the name of the oil company. For instance, Esso became Exxon in 1973. Other service station maps, like Sinclair, Tydol, Flying A disappeared from large portions of the country in the 1960s when they lost market share.

While older ones can be worth higher amounts, depending on their condition, newer ones aren’t as pricey. Early road maps from the first decade of the 1900s can be worth $75-100 today in good condition. Those from the 1920s and 1930s range in price from $20-40. Groups of maps from the 1950s sell for $10-20. Most of the damage to road maps occurred in their refolding, for few motorists ever mastered the art of folding a map correctly after use.

The Sinclair Oil Company hired noted artists like Peter Helck, who also produced advertising illustrations for car companies.

Road maps such as this one illustrated the future of automobile travel with modern service stations along the way.

Road maps, especially the ones produced by oil companies for their service stations, are highly collectible.

An old photograph of an early Texaco Service Station.

A photograph of a Sinclair Oil Service Station.

Humble, one of the many oil companies in the southwest, gave away this Texas road map to its customers.