1938-1939 Ontario Official Government Road Map

The 1938-1939 Ontario Official Government Road Map of the provincial government’s showing the entire Province of Ontario with routes, towns, and travel information, produced by the Ontario Travel and Publicity Bureau.

What ChaptGPT has to say: 📜General Description Title & Publisher: Official Government Road Map of Ontario — issued for the years 1938-1939 by the Ontario Travel and Publicity Bureau in Toronto. Format: A large fold-out paper road map (typically about 45" × 19" when unfolded, folding down to a small pocket size). Design: Full-color mapping covering the province from Windsor and the Michigan border in the southwest to the far reaches of Northern Ontario. Major and minor roads, waterways, railways, and settlements of the late 1930s are charted. Two-Sided: Usually one side shows Southern Ontario (more densely settled and road-rich areas) and the other side shows Northern Ontario with fewer routes but key connections and distances. 🛣 What the Map Shows Road Network: Provincial highways and connecting roads as they existed in 1938-39, including early numbered trunk highways before major wartime and postwar developments. This includes routes that were designated and maintained by the Department of Highways but before the expansion of the modern road network. Towns & Cities: Names and locations of communities, with more detail in the populated south and sparser place names farther north. Railways & Waterways: The map includes rail lines and major lakes and rivers important for travel and commerce in that era. Insets & Legends: Typical of the era, a legend explains symbols for road types and features, and there may be inset maps for urban centers or areas with complex intersections. 📍 Historical Context Travel & Publicity Bureau Role: The bureau produced these maps as part of promoting road travel, tourism, and economic development within Ontario. Era of Publication: This map reflects the road network just before World War II, when automobile travel was becoming more widespread but before major postwar highway expansions.