Barnesville township was named after its railway village, which was established in 1874 by George S. Barnes. George was born in Vermont in 1840. Moving to Clay County in 1871, he was a farmer and wheat merchant, who owned and managed a very large farm near Glyndon and died there 28 November 1912. The village was incorporated on 4 November 1881 and received its charter as a city on 4 April 1889.