Frank Allyn joined the newly created Wyoming Highway Department in 1920 as a draftsman. At the time, the department was surveying existing roads across the state. By 1924 the survey was completed. From the results, Allyn created the first road map of Wyoming for the motoring public.
This began the tradition of producing and distributing an annual Wyoming Highway Map.
Those early one-sided, black and white maps had little information compared to today’s maps. But they did show motorists what type of road they were in for, whether improved gravel or unimproved dirt.
In those days, only about 10,000 maps were printed annually. Today, to serve the growing number of travelers, that number has climbed to 1.5 million.
You can visit UW’s American Heritage Center to see those early Wyoming highway maps and learn more about Wyoming’s roadways.