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:
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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.
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McKim & Huffman Bottles:
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Clear 5.7" bottle embossed:
vertical: McKIM & HUFFMAN / DRUGGISTS / LURAY, VA.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Other stuff:
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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]
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
Back to my drugtstore bottle home page.
This page last updated on August 16, 2024.