What is now DE 71 originally existed as a county road by 1920, with the portion south of Townsend proposed as a state highway at this time. By 1924, the entire length of the present route was paved, with the portion from the Summit Bridge to Kirkwood proposed as a state highway and the portion from Kirkwood to Tybouts Corner improved to a state highway. A year later, the state highway had been completed south of Townsend and between Mount Pleasant and Kirkwood. In 1930, the state highway between Middletown and Mount Pleasant was finished. By 1931, the remainder became a state highway. When Delaware started numbering state highways by 1936, this road remained unnumbered. By 1938, DE 71 was designated to run from US 13 south of Townsend north to US 13 in Tybouts Corner, following roughly the same alignment it does today.