Built in 1868 by George Gribbler, according to the 1885 McHenry County History book, The McHenry Brewery still stands today on it's original location.
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| 1901 |
In the early years, it was run by several different people including Ed Owen, Mr. King and Schreiner & Benfield. In 1880 the proprieter was Gottlieb F. Boley who purchased the property for $1,400.00.
Mr. Boley was constantly adding improvements to the brewery and in addition to that, he owned a large malt-house where he manufactured his own malt for beer making.
Just before his death in September of 1900, remodeled the brewery adding a 2 story wooden building at the cost of $5,000.00.
From the 1912 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map you can see where the Brewery structures were located:
Upon the death of Mr. Boley, the brewery was taken over by Grott and Damgard. They ran it for five years. In 1906 the brewery was taken over by Mr. Boley's children and operated it under the brand name "Buffalo Beer".
1919 brought in prohibition and the Brewery Corner became the Brewery Service Station.
During the prohibition, the brewery was producing Root Beer along with making beer in a hidden location in the basement. It was piped under Pearl Street to a Speak-easy. Michael Worts who was married to Mr. Boley's daughter Katherine, served 2 sentences for selling beer.
When prohibition was appealed in 1933, the brewery was sold to William Kline. Remodeled again, the brewery continued to operate until 6 months after the Pearl Harbor attack.
From 1942 until 2009, the building housed several restaurants and pubs.
After several fires, only the basement and back third of the original building survived. According to the McHenry Brewing Company website, the front portion of the building was rebuilt on the original foundation.
In 2012, the Brewery Corner was purchased by Curt Ames and 2013, the brewery is operating again on it's original historic site.
Further reading:
Gottlieb F. Boley biography at Find A Grave
The McHenry Plaindealer 20 July, 1933 - History Of The McHenry Brewery
