PI 168 Description:
190. POST-ROUTE (STATE) MAPS. 1894-1960. 448 items. 3 ft.
Published maps of individual States, territories, and island possessions of the United States, on an intermediate scale, showing information relating to post offices, postal routes, mail-carrying railroads, rural delivery routes, airmail routes, mail supply points, and method and frequency of postal service, as well as county and boundaries and principal drainage features.
This series of maps, although different in format, is a continuation of the series described in entry 189 and was designed to include all editions of a given map. It is incomplete, however, for the years before 1937. Some of the editions of the maps, particularly for the years 1917 and 1935-40, have been annotated to show navigable waters and coastal waters, and congressional districts (see also entries 193 and 198).
Arranged alphabetically by State, territory, or island possession and thereunder chronologically by date of publication.
This Series is partially available online.
Nara Catalog: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/305432
The original records are located at NARA 2 at College Park.
The catalog description is different than what was originally detailed in PI 190. Above is the PI 190 description. Here is the newer catalog description:
Published State Postal Route Maps, 1894–1957
This series consists of a published record set of intermediate-scale maps of the individual States, Territories, and island possessions of the United States. These maps depict information relating to post offices, postal routes, mail-carrying railroads by name of railroad, rural-delivery routes, air-mail routes, mail-supply points, and method and frequency of postal service. In addition to postal information, these maps show county boundaries and principal drainage features.
This series is incomplete for the years before 1937. Certain maps in this series are annotated to indicate navigation information within a particular State and within the coastal waters of those States bordering on the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Others are marked with the boundaries and numbers of the congressional districts within individual States. Still others maps are annotated with red dots over certain cities or towns (possibly to identify first-class mail offices) and with unidentified six-digit numbers stamped generally along railroad routes.
Sample Image:
Jeanette’s Sample Citation:
U.S. National Archives, National Archives Catalog, database with images (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/25464123 : 27 June 2025) > NA Identifier (NAID) 25464123: “Post Route Map of the State of Indiana,” 1901; citing Published State Postal Route Maps, Record Group 28: Records of the Post Office Department; National Archives, College Park, Maryland.