Founded in 1919 along the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway, Farnsworth was not the first community in the area: the coming of ranchers in the 1880s had led to the establishment of a nearby community named Olds. The locality changed names several times: starting at Olds, it became Nogal with the establishment of a post office in 1905, changed to Rogerstown in 1906, and finally concluded in 1920 with the opening of a post office at the current site. From the beginning, the community has borne the name of Farnsworth, given in honor of Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway director H. W. Farnsworth.[5]