Nelson McCoy Sr. established the Nelson McCoy Sanitary Stoneware Company on Gordon Street in Roseville in 1910, and the company made utilitarian stoneware from regional and local clay. In 1933, it became the Nelson McCoy Pottery Company and shifted production to decorative wares. Nelson McCoy Sr. served as president until 1945, followed by Nelson Melick from 1945 to 1954 and Nelson McCoy Jr. from 1954 to 1981. As product lines constantly changed, they expanded in the 1950s and annual output grew to ten million pieces. With five hundred employees, the company became the nation’s leading artware pottery and had a tremendous influence on the local economy and on the lives of its employees. The plant closed in 1990 after eighty years operating under the Nelson McCoy name, and its products remain highly collectible.