State Highway 36 runs from Freeport to Abilene. It was designated as The 36th Division Memorial Highway between Cameron and Sealy by the Texas Legislature in 1985.

SH 36 was originally proposed in 1919 as a route from Freeport to Goldthwaite. By 1933, the section from Temple to Goldthwaite had been SH 53 and SH 74, while SH 36 had been rerouted northwest to Comanche. By 1939, the route was extended yet again to its current terminus in Abilene, and had been rerouted over State Highway 221 south of Temple. It has run on its current course since 1946, with only minor route changes to bypass Brenham, Temple, and Freeport.

SH 36A was a spur route of SH 36 spltting off at Cameron and traveling east to Hearne. By 1933, the route had been renumbered as SH 69. It was instead redesignated on an alternate routing just south of Temple, serving the town of Heidenheimer. By 1936, the route had been renumbered State Highway 221.

SH 36B was a spur route of the original SH 36, splitting off at Lampasas and travelling southeast to Georgetown. By 1933, it had been renumbered as parts of SH 74 and SH 195.