Established in the late 1930s, State Route 696 is a two-lane highway that runs through parts of Allen and Putnam Counties.

No part of State Route 696 is included within the National Highway System, a system of routes determined to be most important for the economy, mobility and defense of the country.

[2][3] In 1955, a new by-pass that would later become a part of the Interstate 75 freeway was opened around the south and east sides of Beaverdam.

[5][6] Then, in 1999, State Route 696's southern terminus was moved one more time.

With the completion of the new U.S. Route 30 expressway heading east from the Beaverdam vicinity to State Route 235, State Route 696 was re-routed east from the intersection of West Street and Main Street in downtown Beaverdam, along the old two-lane alignment of U.S. Route 30, crossing Interstate 75 at its Exit 135, and then going on to a signalized intersection with a connector roadway that links with the newly aligned U.S. Route 30 expressway at a new trumpet interchange.