State Highway 65 was commissioned between June 1932 and August 1933, first appearing on the August 1933 Department of Highways map. Originally, SH-65 began at the Red River as a continuation of TX-148 and extended north to Walters, using the present-day routes of SH-5B, a small section of SH-5A, and SH-5. By October 1935, the highway had been extended to cover most of its present-day route; SH-65 still used what is now SH-5B, but turned east at the present-day northern terminus of that route to concur with SH-5 into Temple, north of which it used its current route to Sterling. In Sterling, SH-65 turned west, terminating at US-277 in Elgin. At this point, the highway was completely unpaved, with only the segment concurrent with SH-5 and the Elgin–Sterling route graveled. Dirt roads comprised the remainder of the route.