SH 1 was approximately 842 miles (1,355 km) long, and was one of the original 25 Texas state highways, which were designated on June 21, 1917.

The only portion of SH 1 that existed after September 26, 1939, was a short spur located in Dallas.

They were Texas State Highway 1A, which was a long alternate route of SH 1 that traveled from Abilene to just west of Palo Pinto, Texas State Highway 1B, which was a short spur located in Dallas that was redesignated as SH 1 in 1939, and Texas State Highway 1C, which was a short spur located in Fort Worth that was redesignated at US 80 in 1939.

[5] Known as the Texarkana, Dallas, Fort Worth and El Paso Highway, it crossed from Arkansas at Texarkana and ran west through Dallas, Fort Worth, Albany, Abilene, Big Spring and Van Horn to end in El Paso.

[6] On September 5, 1918, it had been extended northwest from El Paso to the New Mexico state line.

[7][8] In February 1920,[9] the whole of SH 1 was included in the transcontinental Bankhead Highway, a marked auto trail.

[19] In the original 1917 definition, SH 1 had a split between Abilene and Palo Pinto (west of Mineral Wells).

Another split was present between Sulphur Springs and Texarkana, and a branch ran from the northern route at Naples east to State Highway 8 at Douglassville.

[6] SH 1 followed State Highway 39 from Greenville to Commerce and went southeast to Sulphur Springs when the route was decided.

[27] On October 23, 1935, US 80 and SH 1 were rerouted onto the direct route between Ranger and Weatherford, replacing part of State Highway 89,[28][29] and US 80 Alt.