McHenry Brass was founded and established as McHenry manufacturing and Machine Company in 1894 by seven men! Cast iron wheels and miscellaneous parts were produced for the underground mining industry. In 1917, Ed Nelson purchased the company and began to pour copper and bronze castings.

In 1921, Nelson moved the company from a small building by the railroad tracks to its present location, a vacant opera house that was home to many traveling opera productions at the turn of the century.