Titled Post Route Map of the State of Wisconsin Showing Post Offices, March 1, 1950, this authoritative state portrait captures Wisconsin at a decisive postwar moment when the Railway Mail Service still pulsed through nearly every county. Compiled by the United States Post Office Department, the map arrays a tight constellation of post offices across the Badger State, each point tied into a color-keyed lattice of transport lines that reveal how letters and parcels coursed from lakeshore cities to inland farms. Set on a precise polyconic projection and bounded by clearly delineated counties, it reads as both a logistical diagram and a civic census. From Milwaukee’s sprawling nexus to the Mississippi borderlands, the design renders movement legible, showing the routes that knit communities into a national communications system.

The map’s visual language marries clarity with density. Counties are crisply outlined to anchor jurisdictional responsibility, while a disciplined palette differentiates mail corridors and junctions. Route lines typically track the state’s rail beds, and the cartographer’s symbols mark interchanges where clerks and carriers shifted sacks, rerouted pouches, and kept schedules in metronomic time. The polyconic framework minimizes distortion across Wisconsin’s breadth, allowing the viewer to compare distances and service patterns from Green Bay’s harbor to the driftless west with confidence. One can follow the sweep of lines enfolding Lake Winnebago, trace crossings of the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers, and see how the routes braid through glacial uplands before fanning toward Lake Michigan, all while preserving the administrative geometry that governed delivery.

Produced by the United States Post Office Department as part of its nationwide post route series, this 1950 edition reflects a system at its operational zenith and on the cusp of reinvention. Railway Mail Clerks, working in swaying postal cars, sorted letters in transit along corridors defined here—many aligned with the Milwaukee Road, Chicago & North Western, and Soo Line. Yet the cartography also hints at the era’s evolution, with road-linked paths radiating from county seats and regional hubs as Highway Post Office experiments and expanding airmail began to influence routing. The result is a rare synthesis: a government planning tool tuned for cadence and interchange, and a documentary record of how the federal network threaded Wisconsin’s towns into continental circulation.

Urban gravity is palpable. Milwaukee dominates the southeast, dispatching strands north along the lakeshore through Racine and Kenosha and westward toward Madison’s capitol square and the industrial belt of Janesville. North of the Kettle Moraine, the Fox River corridor concentrates service, binding Appleton and Oshkosh to Green Bay and the Door Peninsula. Waukesha emerges as a suburban relay, while Eau Claire anchors the northwest, where lines shadow the Chippewa and St. Croix watersheds. Across the state, route density waxes and wanes with settlement and terrain, skirting marsh and moraine, bridging the Mississippi rim, and converging at railroad junctions that served as the system’s synapses. The pattern reads like a living atlas of commerce, governance, and daily life in mid-century Wisconsin.

As an artifact, the map offers layered insight. It shows not only where mail went, but why: the economic circuits, county hierarchies, and natural corridors that shaped federal service decisions. Each post office dot marks a promise kept at regular intervals; each junction symbol encodes the choreography of exchange that kept farms supplied, factories connected, and families in touch. The design’s disciplined precision—projection, color, and administrative outlines—embodies mid-century public cartography at its most pragmatic and elegant. For historians, collectors, and connoisseurs of American infrastructure, it is a master key to Wisconsin in 1950: a state rendered as a network, its communities illuminated by the very lines that carried their words to the world.

Cities and towns on this map

• Milwaukee
• Madison
• Green Bay
• Kenosha
• Racine
• Appleton
• Waukesha
• Janesville
• Oshkosh
• Eau Claire

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Detailed outlines of counties in Wisconsin.
• Locations of post offices throughout the state.
• Color-coded markings indicating various mail transport routes.
• Routes typically following railroad tracks.
• Indications of junctions for railroads within the postal network.

Historical and design context

• Map Title: Post Route Map of the State of Wisconsin Showing Post Offices ... March 1, 1950.
• Creation Date: March 1, 1950.
• Mapmaker/Publisher: United States Post Office Department.
• Historical Context of Maker: The map is part of a series from the United States Post Office Department, which played a crucial role in organizing mail routes across the nation, particularly post-World War II as the postal infrastructure evolved.
• Topics and Themes: The map details postal routes, post office locations, and incorporates railroads. It serves as a historical documentation of mail transport.
• Regions Shown: The entire state of Wisconsin.
• Design/Style: The map uses a polyconic projection, featuring outlined counties in a specific color to delineate geographical boundaries.
• Historical Significance: This map reflects the complex network of post routes used by Railway Mail Clerks, illustrating how mail was distributed at a critical point in the development of postal services in the U.S.

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This is a very large map that must be ordered at a large size, so that you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 100in (250cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.

Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.

We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.

• We can deliver directly to the recipient
• Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
• Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
• Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
• 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide

If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.

Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.

We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.

Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.

Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.

Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.

If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.

Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.

Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 5-year guarantee.

Read our full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

If you are not happy with your order for any reason, contact me and I'll get it fixed ASAP, free of charge. Please see my returns and refund policy for more information.

I am very confident you will like your restored map or art print. I have been doing this since 1984. I'm a 5-star Etsy seller. I have sold tens of thousands of maps and art prints and have over 5,000 real 5-star reviews. My work has been featured in interior design magazines, on the BBC, and on the walls of dozens of 5-star hotels.

I use a unique process to restore maps and artwork that is massively time consuming and labour intensive. Hunting down the original maps and illustrations can take months. I use state of the art and eye-wateringly expensive technology to scan and restore them. As a result, I guarantee my maps and art prints are a cut above the rest. I stand by my products and will always make sure you're 100% happy with what you receive.

Almost all of my maps and art prints look amazing at large sizes (200cm, 6.5ft+) and I can frame and deliver them to you as well, via special oversized courier. Contact me to discuss your specific needs.