A.W. McKim & Son
McKim & Huffman


Company Names, addresses, dates:
  ? McKim ?, Luray VA (ca.1868-1875) 1,2
  Brumback, McKim & Co, Opp. Union Hotel, Luray VA (1875-1876) 2,3
  Hudson & McKim, Luray VA (1876-1877) 3,4
  McKim & Co, Luray VA (1877-1890) 4,5
  McKim & Chapman, Luray VA (1890-1905) 5,6
  A.W. McKim & Son, Luray VA (1905-1921) 6,7
  McKim & Huffman, 219 West Main Street, Luray VA (1921-ca.2010) 7,8

Notes:
Albert William McKim (1845-1923)9 was a druggist in Luray Va.
According to his obituary, in his early years, he assisted in a drug store of Dr. Ben Grove in Luray, and later took charge of that drug store.10
I don't know what year he took over - some references that say his store was "since 1868" and others say "since 1870". My guess would be that Dr. Groves drug store started in 1868, and McKim took over that store in 1870.
The earliest Luray newspaper I have access to is the "Page Courier" in 1875, so I don't have access to much of the information before that year.

In February of 1875, there was an announcement of an opening of a new drugstore called "Brumback, McKim & Co", located opposite the Union Hotel.2.
McKim's obituary mentions that his early parters included "D. H. Brumback" and "J. B. Brumback"10.

In 1876, there was an announcement that "Brumback, McKim & Co" had disolved, with the new firm being called "Hudson & McKim". The new senior partner was Mr. H.V. Hudson.3

That firm didn't seem to last long, because the next year (1877) there are newspaper ads and mentions of the A.W. McKim & Co drug store4.
In later years, the "& Co" partners are listed as G.T. Chapman and H.J. Smoot11

In 1890, Mr. Smoot sells out his portion to a Mr. Chapman, and the new name of the store is McKim & Chapman.5

In 1905, Chapman leaves, the new new firm is called A.W. McKim & Son, with McKim's son, Robert Lee McKim (1875-1961)12 as his partner.6

That lasts until 1921, a few years after A.W. McKim had retired. At that time W. Henry Huffman (1890-1948)13 bought out A.W. McKim, and teamed up with his son Robert to form McKim & Huffman7.

The "McKim & Huffman" drugstore lasted a long time, although it changed hands along the way. Huffman passed away in 1948, and shortly after that his portion of the business was bouight out by John Robert Hudson. And in 1952, Hudson sold his interest in the business to Elbert B. Lipps Jr7.

I know that the store was still open in 2010, because I visited it then (see photo of the store below on this web page). Sometime between then and 2015 it closed for good.


McKim & Son Bottles:
mckim_01 From left to right, these 4 bottles are SCA 5.25" tall (4 oz), clear 4.75" tall (3 oz), clear 4.25" tall (2 oz), and clear 3.8" tall (1/2 oz). They are embossed:
above vertical slugplate (left bottle): IV
above vertical slugplate (left-middle bottle): III
above vertical slugplate (right-middle bottle): II
above vertical slugplate (right bottle): 1/2
vertical slug plate: A W McKim & Son / DRUGGISTS / LURAY, VA.


McKim & Huffman Bottles:
mckim_05 Clear 5.7" bottle embossed:
vertical: McKIM & HUFFMAN / DRUGGISTS / LURAY, VA.
mckim_10 This bottle is embossed the same as the one above, but it's a much smaller bottle. It's a clear 2.8" bottle embossed:
vertical: McKIM & HUFFMAN / DRUGGISTS / LURAY, VA.
mckim_04 Green 2.5" screw-top (eye-dropper) machine-made bottle with label from 1942:
label: McKIM & HUFFMAN / DRUGGISTS / LURAY, VIRGINIA / ... DR. WHITE ... 9/3/42
mckim_09 Clear 2.8" machine-made bottle with label from 1954:
label: THIS IS YOUR PRESCRIPTION FROM / DR. HOLSINGER / McKIM & HUFFMAN / DRUGGISTS / ... 8-26-54 / LURAY PHONE 126 VIRGINIA
mckim_06 Clear 2.75" screw-top machine-made bottle with label:
label: THIS IS YOUR PRESCRIPTION FROM / Dr. Amiss / McKIM & HUFFMAN / PHARMACY / ... / LURAY PHONE 3-5151 VIRGINIA
mckim_08 Clear 3.3" screw-top machine-made bottle with label from 1961:
label: M.J.W. WHITE M.D. / ... 8.8.61 / ... McKIM & HUFFMAN PHARMACY / Walgreen Agency / LURAY PHONE Riverside 3-5151 VIRGINIA



Other stuff:
mckim_02 This is a photo (taken 2010) of the current McKim & Huffman pharmacy in downtown Luray. The sign says "Since 1868". [The pharmacy has since closed down]
mckim_11 This postcard does not have a postmark date, but based on the cars I'd guess it's from the 1940s or 1950s. To the right of the Luray Museum (which is no longer there) is the McKim drugstore. Compare it to the photo below.
mckim_12 This photo was takein in 2010. It's roughly the same view as the postcard above, except for the obvious difference that the Luray Museum is no longer there, and was replaced by the drugstore parking lot. I tried to draw in where the Museum was in red.
mckim_07 This is a 5.75" long measuring spoon, with 1 tsp on one side and 1/2 tsp on the other. In the middle, says in raised letters painted green:
McKIM & HUFFMAN PHARMACY / "PRESCRIPTIONS OUR SPECIALTY" / PHONE RI 3-5151
mckim_03 This is a label that came off of a drugstore bottle. From what I can make out, it says:
EXT. OF VANILLA / ALCOHOL 67 PER CENT / McKIM & HUFFMAN / DRUGGISTS / LURAY, VIRGINIA


1 (sign on window of McKim & Huffman store says "Since 1868")
2 Page Courier, 18-Feb-1875, p3 (ad for "new store" called "Brumback, McKim & Co")
3 Page Courier, 11-May-1876, p3 (dissolution of "Brumback, McKim & Co")
4 Shenandoah Herald, 18-Jan-1877, p3 (Earliest mention I found for ""McKim & Co" drugstore)
5 Page Courier, 9-Oct-1890, p3 (formation of "McKim & Chapman")
6 Page Courier, 23-Feb-1905, p2 (formation of "A.W. McKim & Son")
7 Page News & Courier, 23-Aug-1962, p1-B (Article: Luray's Oldest Drug Store)
8 (photo I took of drug store in 2010, proving it was still open and called "McKim & Huffman")
9 Find-a-grave entry for Albert William McKim
10 Page News & Courier, 28-Aug-1923, p1 (obituary for A.W. McKim)
11 Page Courier, 8-Sep-1887, p4 (ad for McKim & Co's Drug Store)
12 Find-a-grave entry for Robert Lee McKim
13 Find-a-grave entry for William Henry Huffman


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This page last updated on August 16, 2024.