When the road was added to the state highway system in 1915 and numbered in 1927, it formed a connection from Ogden to Hooper.

[5] The legislature added a connection from US-91 (now SR-26) at "Dead Man's Curve" in Roy north along 1900 West, Hinckley Drive, and Pennsylvania Avenue to SR-37 at Hooper Junction in 1923[6] and numbered it State Route 38 in 1927.

[8] That same year, State Route 105 was created, initially running from US-91 (now SR-126) in Sunset east to SR-49 (which by the mid-1930s was US-89) in South Weber.

This left SR-38 as a short route on Hinckley Drive and Pennsylvania Avenue between SR-84 at Nye's Corner and SR-37 at Hooper Junction.

The portion from Hooper Junction (where I-15 now crossed) to US-89/US-91 in Ogden became a new SR-53, the piece southwest of SR-84 became an extension of SR-108, and the roadways in between and east of US-89/US-91 were removed from the state highway system.