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20 Things You Didn't Know About the Official Indiana State Highway Map

You’re in your car, and reach into your glove box. What do you find? Chances are you’re one of the millions of Hoosiers who has picked up your copy of Indiana’s official state highway map. If you don’t have one, there has probably been a time or two when you wished you did!

With more than a million copies printed each year, Indiana’s official highway map remains one of the hottest items to come off the presses in the Hoosier State. You know the map helps you find your way around Indiana’s state roads, but we’ll bet there are at least 20 things you didn’t know about Indiana’s state highway map.


  1. The official Indiana state highway map was first printed for public distribution in 1930 – more than 70 years ago!
  2. When the map was first produced, each road was drawn in by hand.
  3. In 1930, when the map was first printed, there were still no interstate highways in Indiana.
  4. There are more than 12,000 miles of road (Interstate, U.S. and State Routes) shown on the Indiana state highway map.
  5. County roads are not shown on the state highway map because there’s just too many of them – 66,000 miles, to be exact!
  6. In 2000, the size of the state highway map increased by 25 percent, making it easier to read.
  7. The map has been designed by one person – John Jackson – for the past 37 years. WFYI TV Roadmaster
  8. On the Indiana map, you can find four Millersburgs, Salems and Mount Pleasants. You can also find five places named Wheeler, Indiana!
  9. The town of Beanblossom, Indiana was named for Captain Beanblossom, who nearly drowned in a creek there.
  10. In the past 30 years, more than 70 communities have been removed from the state highway map because they no longer exist.
  11. Before removing a community from the state highway map, the Indiana Department of Transportation visits the location to ensure the community is gone.
  12. When the town of Anita was eliminated from the state map, an individual proposed legislation to put the town back on the map – and it passed!
  13. There’s still a debate over the name of one Indiana town. The town of East Germantown changed its name to Pershing after World War I; however some residents still refer to it by the original name.
  14. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) prints more than a million state highway maps annually.
  15. Thousands of Hoosiers pick up a map at the INDOT booth at the Indiana State Fair each year.
  16. Looking to get from Gary to Fort Wayne? Flip over your map. The mileage chart on the back of your map will tell you how far the journey is.
  17. The map covers all the cities, towns and villages in Indiana from A to Z, literally. Did you know there’s a Zulu, Indiana?
  18. Some roads that are not even built yet are shown on the state highway map. On Indiana’s newest map you can see the planned route of the new Interstate 69 from Evansville to Indianapolis.
  19. Indiana has two nationally designated Scenic Byways – indicated on the state map in green. Follow these routes for unique glimpses of Indiana culture, beauty and history.
  20. Confused about the time zone changes in Indiana? The state map will tell you where Eastern Time stops and Central Time starts.

You can request a copy of Indiana’s newest state map on by following this link: Request a 2007-08 Indiana State Transportation Map