During the mid-1800s, Ohio was one of the nation's leading iron producers, and Hope Furnace processed elements extracted from the region's sandstone bedrock. Hundreds of men gathered wood to feed the charcoal fires needed to fuel the furnace. Eventually, iron ore deposits were discovered farther west, and Ohio's reputation as a major iron producer faded. The Hope Furnace shut down in 1874, but the chimney and some of the foundation remain and remind visitors of the once booming industry.