During the early years of the automobile, people wouldn't just "go for a ride," they would do a "motor tour." They called automobiles "motor cars," and drivers were "motorists."

Companies such as King's, Appleton's, and Scarborough's published "touring books." These books had detailed routes and maps. They had advertisements for hotels and for garages where you could get your car repaired or buy gas and accessories.

Because many streets did not yet have signs with their names, the touring books gave exact distances. They described places and buildings drivers should look for (schools, bridges, cemeteries). They told where to turn left or right.

The left column shows the directions for a "tour" from St. John (St. Johns), Michigan, to Owosso, Michigan, from the 1919 King's Official Route Guide. See and print a copy of the information by itself here [PDF]. (Yes, the page really was pink. You can see a picture of the page from the book here.)

After you read the route, think about a short tour you could describe in your own town-maybe from your home to school or the supermarket. Walk the route and write down a tour guide for it. (Instead of miles, you could use blocks.)

After you're done, see if your friends or family can get to the destination by following your directions. If they do, you might give them a prize. Give yourself a better prize for writing such good directions!

Did you find some words used in an old-fashioned way in the King's route description? Here's what they mean:

• 3-corners-place where one road ends when it meets another, making 3 corners
  
  
• 4-corners-place where two roads intersect, making 4 corners
  
  
• 5-corners-place where 5 roads intersect, making 5 corners
  
  
• crossroads-place where two roads meet and cross each other (4-corners)
• frame school-a school made of wood, usually with clapboard siding (not logs or bricks)
• jog-to go just a little in a direction, but not a full turn
• mill-a building with machinery for grinding grain into flour
• one span bridge-bridge wide enough for only one vehicle at a time
• parallel-going in the same direction, not crossing
• thorofare-thoroughfare, a street open at both ends, usually a main street
• trolley-a streetcar, usually powered by an electric current through an overhead wire

You can make up math games with the King's route, too. The mileage is given in whole numbers and tenths of a mile. Write some word puzzles that ask your friends to find out distances like these:

• How many miles would you travel if you motored from Shepardsville to Ovid?
• How many miles will you drive from the first brick school to the concrete bridge?
• How far is it from the mill to Maplewood Cemetery?

Locate the cities in this auto tour on a current highway map of Michigan. Trace the road most people drive from St. John's to Owosso today (State Route 21). Which tour would you rather take, today's or the 1919 route? Why?

Contact the Michigan Historical Museum.

Updated 09/10/2010