TEXAS FARM ROAD #1

 I have lived in Texas many years, and have traveled all over the state, from Amarillo (Dalhart) to Port Arthur and from Texarkana to El Paso to Brownsville, and have always been on the look-out for FM 1.
I finally found it.
(the photo to the right was taken by me just north of Pineland, TX)
FM stands for Farm to Market Road, Texas also has Ranch to Market Roads (RM)

I found FM 1 last summer (2008) when I was sent on a job to Hemphill, TX in Sabine County between Sam Rayburn Reservoir and Toledo Bend Reservoir, which butts upon the Lousianna state  line.

FM 1 runs from the town of Pineland (US 96) through Sabine County north to Fords Corner on TX HWY 21.
It is approximately 25 miles in length.
Pineland is about 30 miles north of the famous city of Jasper, TX

The following is excerpted from Wickapedia.
Whether you like Wickapedia or not, the following narration is more or less correct.

Farm to market roads are generally located in the eastern part of the state and Ranch to market roads in the western half.
The dividing line is approximately along US Hwy 281 which runs north and south through San Antonio and a few miles west of Austin and Dallas.
However, I live 20 miles west of US 281 and the state roads near me are identified as FM not RM

I do not know if the urls will work or not, as I haven't tried them on this web site.

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In the United States, a farm-to-market road or ranch-to-market road (sometimes farm road or ranch road for short) is a state road or county road which serves to connect rural or agricultural areas to market towns. These routes serve as a better quality road, usually a highway, which allows farmers and ranchers to transport their products to market towns and/or distribution centers.

However, in Texas, the terms "Farm to Market Road" or "Ranch to Market Road" indicate a road that is part of the state's system of secondary and connecting routes, built and maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). This system was established in 1949 as a project to provide access to rural areas. The system consists primarily of paved, two-lane roads. Roads occurring west of U.S. Highway 281 (or Interstate 35 in some locations) are designated ranch-to-market roads, while those occurring east of US 281 are generally designated farm-to-market roads, though there are exceptions to this naming system.

History

Although these roads are signed "farm road" or "ranch road" (or simply "FM" and "RM" on larger sign assemblies), the proper name is Farm-to-Market and Ranch-to-Market road. The only exception is Ranch Road 1, which runs near the former ranch home of former President Lyndon B. Johnson.
History

The first Texas farm-to-market road was completed in January 1937 between Mount Enterprise and Shiloh. The route was 5.8 miles (9.1 km) long and cost $48,000. In 1945, the highway commission authorized the construction of 7,500 miles (12,000 km) of farm-to-market roadway, to be shared by the state and Federal governments. The popularity of the program and the vast, isolated central and western areas of the state of Texas prompted the passing of the Colson-Briscoe Act in 1949, which allowed for the creation of an extensive system of secondary roads to provide access to the rural areas of the state and to allow farmers and ranchers to bring their goods to market. The act provided $15 million per year for local highway construction. In 1962, the Texas legislature increased this amount to no less than $23 million, and expanded the farm-to-market system from 35,000 to 50,000 miles (54,000 to 80,000 km). The system includes both farm-to-market roads and ranch-to-market roads, and now accounts for over half of the Texas Department of Transportation system.





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