The current highway was originally built as part of Texas' system of Farm to Market Roads on July 14, 1949.

The state began signing the route as SH 23 on January 27, 1959, although the highway officially retained its Farm to Market designation until August 29, 1990.

SH 23 begins at its southern terminus at US 83 in southwestern Lipscomb County northwest of Canadian.

[3] SH 23 was one of the original 25 state highways proposed on June 21, 1917, with a route from Laredo to Wichita Falls along the Southwest Trail.

[8][9] The route was shortened on August 6, 1929 (effective September 1, 1929) with its southern terminus moved northward to Ballinger, as south of there was transferred to SH 4.

The route followed US 67 between Ballinger and Coleman, and US 283 from Rising Star to its new northern terminus where US 283 crossed the Red River toward Altus, Oklahoma.

[18][9] The current route was originally designated Farm to Market Road 1265 on July 14, 1949.

That road began as a 5.7-mile (9.2 km) route extending southward from the state line through Booker.