SH 34 was originally proposed on November 19, 1917, starting in Ft. Worth travelling southeast to Ennis.

In or around 1945, the section from Kaufman to Ennis was re-routed through Scurry, south of Rosser, and on a new bridge over the Trinity River.

Leaving the city, SH 34 runs in a sharp northeast direction for a few miles, turning north in Oak Ridge.

Near Terrell Municipal Airport, SH 34 runs along a new alignment, bypassing the downtown area of the city and crosses over US 80.

In Quinlan, the highway shares a short overlap with SH 276 and crosses near an inlet of Tawakoni north of the town.

Shortly after intersecting US 69/US 380, SH 34 overlaps with a business route of US 69 through the city's downtown area.

This business route was removed from the state highway system on July 27, 2017; the southern part of Bus.

It became a business route after a bypass was completed in October 2016 around the south and east sides of Kaufman for SH 34.

[15][16][17] The Kaufman business route had been completely cancelled and removed by September 24, 2020, with maintenance being turned over to the city.