Agaro was the capital of the former Kingdom of Gomma, until Gomma was conquered by Dejazmach Besha Abuye in 1886. By 1958, the settlement was one of 27 places in Ethiopia ranked as a First Class Township. Fitawrari Gebre Kristos, started coffee plantations in the 1950s on land he inherited from his grandfather Fitawrari Wossen. Fitawrari Besha could employ up to 400 workers during high harvest season. After the Ethiopian revolution, Gebre Kristos abandoned his plantation and retired to Addis Ababa; his plantation was nationalized by the Land Nationalization Proclamation of March 1975.