 State Highway 65 | ||||
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byODOT | ||||
| Length | 44.4 mi[2] (71.5 km) | |||
| Existed | 1932[1]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  US 70 east ofRandlett | |||
| North end |  SH-17 inSterling | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Oklahoma | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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State Highway 65, usually known asSH-65 orOK-65 (or simplyHighway 65) is a north–south highway inOklahoma. SH-65 travels 44.4 miles[2] (71 km) fromUS-70 east ofRandlett toState Highway 17 inSterling. It has no lettered routes.
State Highway 65 begins at US-70 12 miles (19 km) east of Randlett inCotton County.[3] From there, it heads north towardsTemple. On the western outskirts of that town, SH-65 meetsSH-5, and begins a shortconcurrency with it. The two highways head east through town on Oregon Street before reaching Commercial Avenue, where SH-5 splits off to the south and SH-65 turns north. SH-65 continues north on Commercial for three blocks, then makes a right turn to head east on Boundary Street. As the highway leaves town, it curves back to a due north course.
SH-65 continues northward, meetingSH-53. SH-65 entersComanche County just south ofHulen, where it turns east to briefly parallel the county line before turning back to the north. The highway passes throughLetita before it crossesSH-7 in unincorporatedPumpkin Center. The route then continues north for 13 miles (21 km)[3] before ending at SH-17 in Sterling.
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 theRed River as a continuation ofTX-148 and extended north toWalters, using the present-day routes of SH-5B, a small section of SH-5A, and SH-5.[1] 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 atUS-277 inElgin. 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.[4]
Nearly all of State Highway 65 was decommissioned at some point between April 1937 and April 1938. Only the portion between the Texas line and US-70 was kept. The non-concurrent sections of the former SH-65 routing north of US-70 were dropped from the state highway system, excepting the portion from Elgin to Sterling, which became a western extension of SH-17.[5] In 1940, this change was mostly undone—all of the highway between Temple and Sterling was restored as SH-65. However, this left the section of highway connecting US-70 to TX-148 discontiguous from the remainder of the highway. At this point in time, the southern section of highway and the portion of the route between Temple and SH-53 had been graveled.[6]
In 1941, the southern section of SH-65 was abandoned,[7] only to be restored the following year,[8] and then was dropped again by June 1944. A section of dirt road between US-70 and Temple had been also added to SH-65 by June 1944, setting the highway at its present-day termini.[9]
By 1956, the only remaining gravel section of Highway 65 was the portion between SH-53 and the Comanche County line.[10] The route was completely paved by 1966.[11]
| County | Location | mi[2] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton | | 0.0 | 0.0 | US 70 | Southern terminus |
| Temple | 8.0 | 12.9 |  SH-5 | ||
| 8.5 | 13.7 | SH-5 | |||
| | 15.0 | 24.1 |  SH-53 | ||
| Comanche | Pumpkin Center | 31.8 | 51.2 |  SH-7 | |
| Sterling | 44.4 | 71.5 | SH-17 | Northern terminus | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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