We assess Montana highway maps produced between 1914 and 2000 to identify how the Montana Department of Transportation and its predecessors used maps to frame Montana’s place identity and heritage for promotional purposes in the twentieth century. After 1934, we document how Montana’s official state maps became a key source and shaper of tourist knowledge about the state, its history, and its attractions. Five persistent map themes—territorial identity, mythic West, natural wealth, outdoor recreation, and hospitality—are used to define Montana landscapes and heritage and to shape perceptions of the state. The normative and persuasive powers of Montana highway maps reveal them as premiere examples of a portable and place‐defining affective technology used to promote tourism within the twentieth‐century American West.

我们评估了1914年至2000年之间制作的蒙大拿州公路地图，以确定蒙大拿州交通运输部及其前身如何使用这些地图来构筑蒙大拿州的地名和遗产，以促进20世纪的发展。1934年之后，我们记录了蒙大拿州的官方州地图如何成为有关该州，其历史和景点的旅游知识的主要来源和塑造者。五个永久的地图主题-地域特征，西方神话，自然财富，户外休闲和热情好客-用于定义蒙大拿州的风景和遗产，并塑造对国家的看法。蒙大拿州公路地图的规范性和说服力使它们成为在20世纪美国西部用于促进旅游业的便携式和定义地点的情感技术的首例。