Was it ever the case that Scrabble tiles had to be placed contiguously?
It seems it has never been a rule.
I've found a (non-HTTPS) site here that shows previous rules from different version of the game.  The oldest rules they have are from 1948, the year the game became Scrabble.
In the rules examples, they show the word &quot;FARM&quot; being played intersecting with &quot;HORN&quot;, so that is clearly using &quot;FA&quot; and &quot;M&quot;, splitting placement either side of the letter &quot;R&quot;.