Farmland was platted in 1852 in Randolph County and listed as a station on the Indianapolis and Bellfontaine Railroad. The town was incorporated in 1867. Its commerce was based on agriculture and, by the late 1880's, nearby gas and oil production. Responding to a 1897 fire, the community built six major buildings within two years of the disaster. The historic district boundaries include parts of Main, Henry, and Williams streets on the original plat. Its buildings were built circa 1867 - 1929 and remain close to their original condition. The district demonstrates the growth of a railroad-based rural agricultural community and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.