The Farwell brand of pianos was built by The Dominion Piano & Organ Company of Ontario, Canada. The Dominion firm was originally established as the Oshawa Organ & Melodeon Company in 1870 by A.M. Darley and William Robinson. In about 1873, the firm moved to Bowmanville, Ontario. H. O’Hara joined the firm that same year. In about 1879, the firm started building pianos in addition to organs, and the name was changed to “The Dominion Piano & Organ Company”.

During this era, the firm was being managed by Mr. Farwell, and the “Farwell” piano brand name was built in order to commemorate his great success with the company. In addition to the Farwell Dominion names, the firm also built pianos under the “Rainer & Co.” name. The Dominion Piano & Organ Company went out of business in 1936.