State Highway 21 (SH 21) runs from the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

boundary east of San Augustine to

San Marcos San Marcos is the Spanish name of Saint Mark. It may also refer to: Towns and cities Argentina * San Marcos, Salta Colombia * San Marcos, Antioquia * San Marcos, Sucre Costa Rica * San Marcos, Costa Rica (aka San Marcos de Tarrazú) ...

in east and central Texas. SH 21 mostly follows the alignment of the

Old San Antonio Road The Old San Antonio Road was a historic roadway located in the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. Parts of it were based on traditional Native American trails. Its Texas terminus was about southeast of Eagle Pass at the Rio Grande in Maverick ...

and the El Camino Real, except for the portion between Midway and Bryan, where the Old San Antonio Road took a more northerly route, and SH 21 follows a more direct route. That section of the Old San Antonio Road is served by

Texas State Highway OSR Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

History

SH 21 was one of the original 25 routes proposed in Texas on June 21, 1917 along a route from the

border east of St. Augustine to

Gonzales Gonzales may refer to: Places * Gonzales, California, U.S. * Gonzales, Louisiana, U.S. * Gonzales, Texas, U.S. * Gonzales County, Texas Other uses * Battle of Gonzales, 1835 * Gonzales (horse) (1977 – after 1996), an American-bred Thoroughbred ...

, overlaid on top of the Gonzales-St. Augustine Highway. There was proposed extension southward to Karnes City on February 18, 1918. On July 16, 1923, the terminus was shortened to

Giddings Giddings may refer to: * Giddings (surname) *Giddings, Texas Giddings is the county seat of Lee County, Texas, United States situated on the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 and U.S. Route 290. Its population was 4,969 at the 2020 census. The ci ...

, with the section south of there being cancelled. A spur, SH 21 Spur, was designated on March 19, 1930 from Milam to Hemphill. On August 1, 1930, this spur became part of SH 87. On September 29, 1933, SH 21 was extended to

Lockhart Lockhart may refer to: *Lockhart (surname) Places Australia *Lockhart, New South Wales *Lockhart River, Queensland *Lockhart River, Western Australia United States *Lockhart, Alabama *Lockhart, Florida *Lockhart, Minnesota *Lockhart, Sout ...

. On July 15, 1935, the section from Giddings to Lockhart was cancelled, and SH 21 was rerouted though Lincoln, replacing part of SH OSR, and followed SH 44 to Giddings. On October 21, 1936, SH 21 Spur to Chireno was added. On May 18, 1937, the spur in Chireno became a loop, SH 21 Loop. On February 21, 1938, another SH 21 Spur to McMahan's Chapel was added. On April 19, 1938, the section of SH 21 from Lincoln to Giddings was cancelled, and SH 21 was extended to Bastrop, replacing part of SH OSR. On September 26, 1939, the section from Paige to Bastrop was cancelled, as it was already part of

US 290 U.S. Route 290 (US 290) is an east–west U.S. Highway located entirely within the state of Texas. Its western terminus is at Interstate 10 southeast of Segovia, and its eastern terminus is at Interstate 610 in northwest Houston. It is the ...

. The spur and loop became Loop 34 (Chireno) and Spur 35 (McMahan's Chapel). On August 2, 1943, the western terminus had been extended to end in

, along its current route, replacing part of SH OSR. Lost pines hwy 21

On June 24, 2010, the SH 21 designation was extended along SH 80 and SH 142 to end at

I-35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

Major intersections

Business routes

SH 21 has two

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...

Kurten business route

Business State Highway 21-H (Bus. SH 21-H) is a long

that runs through Kurten in central Texas. The route was formed from an old section of SH 21 on February 28, 2002, when SH 21 proper was moved onto a new bypass around Kurten.

Nacogdoches business route

Business State Highway 21-P (Bus. SH 21-P) is a long business route that runs through

Nacogdoches Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchitoch ...

in eastern Texas. The route was formed from an old section of SH 21, when the main highway was re-routed onto Loop 224 and US 59 on October 25, 2018. ;Major intersections

References

External links