Being an entrepreneur, Peter Hayden saw an opportunity in the Hocking Hills. He began purchasing large tracts of land along the Hocking Valley Canal, which contained rich deposits of coal and clay beneath it. He then ordered numerous coal mines to be dug out. He owned several canal boats, which he used to ship the coal from the mines to his foundry in Columbus.

In 1852, an iron furnace was constructed and the small village of Hocking Furnace was born. Hayden quickly bought out the owners, took over the iron operation, and changed the name of the village to Haydenville. The furnace remained in blast up until 1882, when stiff competition forced Hayden to shut it down.

Peter Hayden wasn't going to give up and throw in the towel, so he chose a different enterprise. In 1882, he founded the Haydenville Mining and Manufacturing Company. In 1883, several clay mines were dug out and the plant was built, but large hills stood in between them. So, in order to transport the clay, a tunnel was constructed. All of the men in Haydenville worked in the mines or at the plant. The workers would travel back and forth between the two, loading and unloading handcarts, that ran on the tracks inside.

Hayden's company prospered, producing immense quantities of bricks, pipes, tiles, blocks, and fittings each year. Despite his success, Peter Hayden was, by all accounts, a generous and friendly man. He treated his employees with respect, and made sure that they were taken care of. Most, if not all, of the men in Haydenville considered it an honor to work him. Needless to say, he was highly respected. His death on April 6, 1888 brought great sadness to the community.

Hayden's nephew, Halleck Hayden, inherited the company after his death. Halleck operated it for 15 more years before deciding to sell the entire village to a New York stock company. In 1907, the National Fireproofing Company purchased the village and took over the operation. The National Fireproofing Company eventually changed the name to the National Automatic Tool Company, but continued to produce clay products throughout the years. By the late 1950's, the industry which made Haydenville famous was coming to an end.

The clay mines were abandoned in 1957, and the plant was shut down 4 years later. In 1964, the company sold the village to a Pennsylvania realtor. All of the houses were then sold to the residents a year later. In the end, Haydenville went down in the history books as Ohio's last company town.