Texas State Highway 1

State Highway 1 (SH 1) was a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas. The highway traveled from Texarkana on the eastern border to El Paso on the western border, via Dallas and Fort Worth, Abilene, and Midland–Odessa. 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. In 1920, the entire length of the highway was designated as part of the Bankhead Highway, a transcontinental Auto trail. In the Texas Department of Transportation's 1939 state highway renumbering, most of SH 1 was redesignated as U.S. Route 80, as well as U.S. Route 67, and others. Most of these highways were replaced by Interstate 10, Interstate 20, and Interstate 30. The only portion of SH 1 that existed after September 26, 1939, was a short spur located in Dallas. Texas State Highway 1 was officially cancelled on August 20, 1952. Due to the highway's historic value, a highway cannot be designated as State Highway 1 unless by the order of TxDOT Executive Director or by the Transportation Commission.

Texas State Highway 1 had several long spur routes. Most of these were simply numbered as State Highway 1, and were renumbered within a few years. Three of these spurs were separately numbered. 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.

In terms of today's Interstate Highways, the routing of SH 1 is followed by Interstate 10 (I-10) from New Mexico to east of Van Horn, I-20 to west of Fort Worth, and I-30 to Texarkana.

SH 1 was assigned on June 21, 1917, as one of the original 25 state highways. 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. On September 5, 1918, it had been extended northwest from El Paso to the New Mexico state line. In February 1920, the whole of SH 1 was included in the transcontinental Bankhead Highway, a marked auto trail.

In late 1926, the United States Numbered Highways were assigned. State Highway 1 kept its number, but was also assigned U.S. Highway 80 from New Mexico to Dallas and U.S. Highway 67 from Dallas to Texarkana.

By 1936, US 80 had been moved off SH 1 west of downtown Dallas. While SH 1 angled northeast on Fort Worth Avenue from Cockrell Hill, crossing the Trinity River on the Commerce Street Bridge, US 80 continued east on Davis Street, turning north on Zang Boulevard and over the Houston Street Viaduct. In downtown, US 80 turned east on Commerce Street (State Highway 15), and US 67, which had joined US 80 along Davis Street, turned east on Elm Street (SH 1). (Commerce Street and Elm Street later became a one-way pair.) On June 21, 1938, SH 1 Spur was designated to Santo. On December 1, 1938, SH 1 Loop was designated in El Paso.

On September 26, 1939, SH 1 was truncated to only this short piece west from downtown Dallas. The loop became Loop 16 (El Paso). The spur became Spur 40 (Santo). It split from US 80 (Davis Street) and ran northeast on Fort Worth Avenue and Commerce Street. Upon entering downtown Dallas, it split into the one-way pair of Commerce and Elm Streets, ending at US 80 (Houston Street). On August 20, 1952, the route was renumbered to Loop 260 and signed as U.S. Route 80 Business. Loop 260 was removed from the State Highway System and turned over to the City of Dallas on June 25, 1991, along with most of Loop 354.

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. SH 1 followed State Highway 39 from Greenville to Commerce and went southeast to Sulphur Springs when the route was decided. On February 19, 1918, the southern route between Sulphur Springs and Texarkana had become State Highway 1A, and a new State Highway 1B ran from SH 1 in Naples to Douglasville, and a new State Highway 1C ran southeast from SH 1A at Atlanta to the Louisiana state line. On March 20, 1918, SH 1A extended north from Texarkana north to the Red River (the Arkansas state line).