McCrum Drug Co


Company Names, addresses, dates:
  J.T. McCrum, Lexington VA (ca.1860 - ca. 1888) 1,2
  J.T. McCrum & Son, Lexington VA (ca.1888 - 1897) 2,3
  McCrum Drug Co, Lexington VA (1897 - ca.1959) 3,4

Notes:
James Thaddeus (J.T.) McCrum (1834-1897)5 started his drugstore business in Lexington somewhere around 1860. His obituary said (in 1897) that he had been in the drugstore busines for almost 50 years1, and the 1860 Census listed him as a druggist with an estate worth $1500 dollars, probably enough money to have included a drug store.
The 1870 & 1880 Census listed his brother Barton R. McCrum as living with J.T., and working as a clerk in the drug store.

The earliest mention I could find of "J.T. McCrum & Son" was in an 1888 newspaper ad.
His son Hugh W. McCrum (1864-1898)6 would have been 24 years old that year.

After J.T.'s death in 1897, the company was sold to Captain Montgomery Beverly Corse (1866-1931)7, who resigned his position as assistant professor at VMI so he could run the company3. Corse kept the McCrum name, and called it the "McCrum Drug Company"8. Corse died in 1931. I was unable to determine who took over the McCrum Drug Company at that time, but the company continued on until at least 1959, which is the last year I could find any mention of it in newspaper ads & articles.4


JT McCrum & Son Bottles:

mccrum_04 This is a clear 4.5" bottle embossed:
vertical: J.T. McCRUM & SON / DRUGGISTS / LEXINGTON, VA.
base: W T & CO / D / U S A
mccrum_09 This bottle is embossed like the bottle above, but it's slightly taller, and it has a label. It is a clear 4.8" bottle embossed:
vertical: J.T. McCRUM & SON / DRUGGISTS / LEXINGTON, VA.
base: W T & CO / E / U S A / PAT JAN 5 1892
The label says:
label: J.T.McCRUM & SON / DRUGGISTS/ LEXINGTON, VA. / Succus Alteran
mccrum_03 This is a clear 3.5" bottle embossed:
vertical: J.T. McCrum & Son / LEXINGTON, VA.
base: PAT JUN 17 88 / ???


Other McCrum Bottles:
mccrum_01 These bottles are all embossed the same. Their heights/sizes are, from left to right: 5.5" (4 oz), 5.2" (3 oz), 4.4" (2 oz), and 3.7" (1 oz). They are embossed:
horizontal: 3iv (or 3iii, or 3ii, or 3i)
vertical: McCrum's / (McCRUM DRUG CO) / LEXINGTON, VA.
base (leftmost): WT&CO/ U /USA
base (2nd from left): WT&CO / E / USA
base (3rd from left): WT&CO / R / USA
base (rightmost): WT&CO / USA
mccrum_05 This is a clear 5.7" (4 oz) bottle embossed:
horizontal: 3iv
vertical in script: The McCrum / Pharmacy
base: W T Co
This bottle does not say "Lexington" on it, but I suspect it's from the same McCrum drug company in Lexington as the rest of the bottles on this page.
mccrum_10 This is a 7.25" machine-made bottle with an applied colored label (ACL), as well as a partial paper label. It's marked:
ACL: McCrum's / McCRUM DRUG CO, Inc) / LEXINGTON, VA
embossed on the base: (Keystone symbol with a 'K' in it) 4
mccrum_07 This is a clear 2.1" bottle with cork & original contents. It is un-embossed, but it has a label:
label (front): SUGAR-COATED / ROUND PILLS / (PINK) / CASCARA / COMPOUND / MANUFACTURED / FOR / McCRUM DRUG CO. / LEXINGTON, VA.
label (right-side): DOSE: 1 OR 2 PILLS
label (left-side): Each pill contains: Cascarin, 1-4 gr.; Aloin, 1-4 gr.; Podophllum resin, 1-6 gr.; Ext. Belladonna leaves, 1-8 gr.; Strychnine sulphate, 10-60 gr.; Oleoresin Ginger, 1-8 gr.



Other Items:
mccrum_06 This post card was published by the McCrum Drug Co. Based on the primitive cars and the horses in the background, I would guess it's from about 1910. Written on the curb below the building on the right is "Mc Crum's", so I presume that means the building on the right was McCrum's drug store.
mccrum_08 This is another postcard that depicts McCrum's drug store. It looks to be slightly newer than the one above, probably about 1920s. While there are similarities, I think this is a different building than the one in the postcard above as this one has 2 stories and the one above has 3.
mccrum_11 mccrum_12 This is a Victorian Trade Card, depicting a woman at a well with a man looking over a wall. On the back it describes the picture and advertises Dr. Jayne's Tonic Vermifuge, and at the bottom, it says:
PRESENTED BY / J. T. McCRUM, / Lexington, Rockbridge Co., / Virginia


1 Staunton Spectator and Vindicator newspaper, 29-Apr-1897 p.4 (obit says McCrum was druggist for almost 50 years)
2 Alexandria Gazette, 21-Apr-1888 p.3 (earliest mention of "J.T. McCrum & Son"; son would have been 22 yrs old)
3 Alexandria Gazette, 6-Jul-1897 p.4 (Captain M.B. Corse purchases McCrum's company)
4 Richmond Times Dispatch, 24-May-1959, p.66 (last newspaper mention of McCrums that I could find)
5 Find-a-grave for James Thaddeus McCrum
6 Find-a-grave for Hugh W. McCrum
7 Find-a-grave for Montgomery Beverly Corse
8 Lexington Gazette, 16-Feb-1898 p.5 (ad says "McCrum Drug Company successor to J.T. McCrum & Son"


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This page last updated on August 28, 2020.