"The men who originated the idea of building blast furnaces in this, at that time western wilderness, have not received the credit they were entitled to. It was a great undertaking and but few men were courageous enough to make the attempt. But Gideon Hughes, of Baltimore, Maryland, was such a man, and I trust his name will pass into history as the builder of the first blast furnace in Columbiana County, Ohio."

Upon settling in this area, Gideon Hughes constructed a large stone house and this iron furnace, which he named after his wife, Rebecca. It was the third iron furnace constructed in Ohio. Walter Powers was the Iron Master at Rebecca until around 1815. Around 1810, Hughes added a forge to the property. The forge allowed the iron to be formed on site, instead of sending it off to a foundry.

James McKinley, grandfather of President William McKinley, operated the furnace a few years for Hughes. McKinley eventually purchased the iron furnace and house. Henry Doyle succeeded McKinley and operated the iron furnace several years before failing. William Hostetter, George Garretson, and Samuel Shriver purchased the iron furnace and operated it for one year. Doyle again assumed the charge of it for about three months, after which it was never operated again.