Four generations of Farnsworths, hauling the Bay Area since 1906.

A horse, a wagon and barrels of drinking water.

The Farnsworth name in Bay Area freight starts with the great San Francisco earthquake. Earl's grandfather and great-uncle hauled barrels of drinking water to quake victims by horse and wagon.

From that work came Farnsworth & Ruggles, later Drayers Farnsworth & Ruggles, which hauled supplies to the earthquake victims and went on to become one of the largest drayage firms on the West Coast. More than a hundred years later, the third and fourth generations of Farnsworths are still hauling goods around the Bay Area.

Part-time for a Bekins agent, then a Navy hitch.

Earl Farnsworth started working in the family moving business at fourteen. In 1950 he was moving furniture part-time for his stepfather, Dick Hardin, and Hardin's partner, Charles Pierce, who were Bekins agents in San Rafael. He worked for Pierce-Hardin through high school and college.

After a three-year hitch in the Navy he rejoined the firm. He became assistant manager in 1960 and left in 1968 to take another position, a move that led to the birth of his own company three years later.

One van and a pickup truck, out of the family home.

Earl Farnsworth Express began in 1971 at the San Rafael home of Earl and Lenore, with one moving van and a pickup truck. The company was successful from the start. Within a short time it was moving pianos, medium-sized households and offices.

Those early years included delivering new pianos for Steinway, Sherman & Clay, Miracle Music, Dominican College and a number of piano tuners around San Rafael. Earl became an agent for Atlas Van Lines, and later for Mayflower Transit. In 1971 he and a handful of part-time helpers grossed $60,000.

The working philosophy never changed: take care of the customer, and they'll use you again. Through the 1970s and early 1980s the company moved thousands of households and organizations, among them Pacific Gas & Electric, West America Bank, Equitable Life Assurance and Logo Paris.

A 40,000-square-foot facility on Francisco Boulevard East.

By 1981 the business had grown enough to build its own moving and storage facility at 2111 Francisco Boulevard East in San Rafael. It holds 12,000 square feet of clean, containerized storage space and a climate-controlled storage vault.

The fleet moved up with it: custom-built air-ride vans with the safety features to carry furniture, computers and office equipment damage-free. Soon after, Farnsworth became the Marin agent for Mayflower Transit, one of the country's oldest and largest nationwide van lines.

How storage works at the warehouse

The next generation walks into the sales office.

By 1986 the firm had 12 full-time employees and a million dollars in business, up from that first $60,000 year. That same year Earl's younger son, John, started in the sales department.

The fourth generation of Farnsworths grew up in the business. Earl and his sons, Cal and John, together with their valued employees, built the company's reputation in local and nationwide moving.

Cal is President, and the crews keep training.

Cal Farnsworth, Earl Jr., is now President and carries on the same quality practices his father began. The company's movers are trained professionals who continue to attend training and certification in their field.

Farnsworth Express remains the Marin agent for Mayflower Transit. Browse the full list of moving services, or read how to plan a move before the truck arrives.

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