The town of Farsund was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law), although it was already recognized as a trading center in 1795.

On 1 January 1971, the Ytre og Indre Skarstein farms (population: 21) located along the western shore of the Rosfjorden were transferred from Lyngdal to Farsund.

The first element of the name comes from the small island of Farøy which sits in the Farsund strait.

Originally, these trees grew in the garden of the Lund merchant dynasty, where they were probably planted in the middle of the 18th century.

The Soviet prisoners were used as forced labour to build Farsund Airport, bunkers, barracks, and fortifications .

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Farsund is made up of 29 representatives that are elected to four year terms.

The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.

The mayors (Norwegian: ordfører) of Farsund:[33][34] The largest industries are Alcoa Lista, an aluminium plant that employs 270; A maker of auto parts, Aludyne Norway has c. 250 employees.

Farsund is the largest agricultural district in the county of Vest-Agder, having 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) productive land, 88 square kilometres (34 sq mi) of forest, and 11 square kilometres (4.2 sq mi) freshwater areas.

Airlines which have frequented at Lista are among others Braathens SAFE, Norving and Air Stord.

[39] After the war, the Royal Norwegian Air Force took over the airport, and for a period it was used as training camp for conscripts.

Today, the airport is privatized and is an industrial area with only minor GA-traffic.