This furnace was founded in 1793 by Isaac Potts, the same man who founded Harrisville. Eventually a community would spring up around his furnace, with almost four hundred people at it's height. It had over thirty dwellings, a grist mill, general store and a small hospital at one point.

Products made at Martha included pig iron, castings, kettles, sash weights, firebacks and many other implements. Pig iron is a raw material, requiring further processing to make it useful. Part of this need was filled by the forge at Speedwell, but a slitting mill was also required. It was to fill this need that the Wading River Forge and Slitting Mill were erected by Potts on the future site of Harrissville.

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