Maps. What would we do without them? Imagine getting an invitation to your best friend's sister's girlfriend's cousin's wedding and you have no idea where 1313 Mockingbird Lane in East Nova Scotia is.

Out comes your handy Rand McNally pocket map to the rescue.

Yes, Rand McNally is probably the most popular map maker in the United States today. If there is a spot in the U.S. with a road then Rand McNally has a map to show you just where that road is.

So, when did Rand McNally become the company that it has become today?

Rand McNally started in 1856 in Chicago. At the time, this city was the economic capital of the Midwest. What happened here was a humble beginning but it didn't stay that way. William Rand, originally from Boston, opened up a print shop where just about every type of printing could be found. Shortly thereafter he was joined by a gentleman by the name of Andrew McNally who was an Irish immigrant. Rand McNally, at the time, the sum of $9 a week to work for him. Together they set out to take care of the printing needs of the city of Chicago.

Their big break came in 1859 when Rand was taken on by the Chicago Daily Press to manage its printing shop. They also took on McNally to be the shop foreman. By 1868 Rand and McNally had done well enough that they were able to buy the company's contacts and started their own business which focused on the expanding railway system. Part of what they did was print tickets and timetables for the railroads so people would know when trains were departing. By 1870 their business had expanded to the point where they were printing railroad guides and even a newspaper.

It wasn't until 1872 though, that Rand McNally published their first map in the December issue of The Railway Guide. This was actually the catalyst that started what was to become one of the biggest businesses in the United States.

After McNally died in 1905 and Rand had sold his share in the business years earlier, the business was passed on to McNally's son. It was his son who saw the future of Rand McNally in map making. He realized this when he had taken a trip from Chicago to Milwaukee and had taken photos of everything he could along the way. This led to the first modern travel guide, Chicago To Milwaukee. The intention of this guide was to show people how wonderful it would be to see these beautiful places and in the process buy maps to get them there. It was pure business genius.

Well, to make a long story short, 150 years later, Rand-McNally has become the leading map maker in the United States. The company offers travel products ranging from traditional maps and atlases to computer navigation and truck driving management software.

There is nobody in the United States today who doesn't know the name Rand McNally and doesn't have at least one Rand McNally map.

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Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Maps

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