John W. Burrow
Burrow, Martin & Co.


Company Names, addresses, dates: 1
  John W Burrow, 68 S Church St., Norfolk VA (ca.1849-1868) 1,2,3
  John W Burrow, 3 & 5 Main St, Norfolk VA (ca.1868-1870) 1,3
  John W Burrow, 142 Main, Norfolk VA (1870-1896) 1,4
  John W Burrow (2nd store), 9 Hill St, Norfolk VA (1894) 1

  Burrow, Martin & Co, 296 (142) Main, Norfolk VA (1896-1912) 1,4,5
  Burrow, Martin & Co, 226 Main, Norfolk VA (1897-1898) 1
  Burrow, Martin & Co, 282 Church, Norfolk VA (1904-1912) 1
  Burrow, Martin & Co, 150 Botetourt, Norfolk VA (1912) 1
  Burrow, Martin & Co, 607 Botetourt, Norfolk VA (1913-1920) 1
  Burrow, Martin & Co, 241 Church, Norfolk VA (1913-1952) 1
  Burrow, Martin & Co, 330 Granby, Norfolk VA (1930-1939) 1
  Burrow, Martin & Co, 265 Granby, Norfolk VA (1930) 1
  Burrow, Martin & Co, 267-269 Granby, Norfolk VA (1933-1940) 1
  Burrow, Martin & Co, 414 E Main, Norfolk VA (1913-1952) 1
  Burrow, Martin & Co, 501 Boush, Norfolk VA (1940-ca.1960) 1

Notes:
John W. Burrow (1836-1896)6 was a druggist in Norfolk VA. Circa 1849 he introduced his "Burrows' Reliable Medicine" as a remedy for Syphilis.2 There are newspaper ads for this medicine until 1871, claiming that it cures a long list of ailments.

In 1868, he moved his drug store to the building at Nos. 3 & 5 Main Street, which was formerly the stand of M.A. and C.A. Santos.3

About 1870 he moved again, this time to 142 Main Street. In 1894, he opened a 2nd store, this one at 9 Hill Street. 1
Then in 1896, Burrow passed away.6
Later that same year, his son, J.W. Burrow Jr, joined up with William Rogers Martin (1859-1925)7 and formed "Burrow, Martin & Co.". 4
The "& Co" was W.A. Jones. They had 2 stores, Burrow's store at 142 Main Street, and Martin's store at 94 Main Street. 8
In subsequent years, Martin's store went back to using Martin's name alone, vs. "Burrow Martin & Co".1

As you can see from the list of stores at the top of this page, "Burrow Martin & Co" opened up multiple stores over the years, with one of them lasting until at least 1960 (I don't have access to any Norfolk city directories after 1960).1


John Burrow Bottles:

burrow_01 This is an aqua colored 4.8" bottle embossed:
vertical: JOHN W. BURROW / DRUGGIST / NORFOLK, VA.
burrow_02 This is an aqua colored 4.2" bottle embossed:
vertical: JOHN W. BURROW / NORFOLK VA.


Burrow, Martin & Co Bottles:
burrow_03 These are clear 4.3" and 3.6" bottles embossed:
vertical: BURROW, MARTIN & CO / DRUGGISTS / NORFOLK VA.
base (left bottle): *** / WT&CO / USA / PAT DEC 11 1894
base (right bottle): WT&CO / B / PAT / DEC 11 1894 (with "***" & "USA" sideways on the edges)



Other items:
burrow_04 This is a cardboard fan on a wooden stick promoting Putnam Dyes (front & rear views shown). On the back it says:
COMPLIMENTS OF / BURROW, MARTIN & CO. / INCORPORATED / NORFOLK, VA.


1 Norfolk City directories, 1851,66,70,72,74,75,77,80,82,83,85,86,88,89,91,92,94,95,97-99,1900-10,12-16,19,20,22,23-25,27,28,30,33-35,38-40,49,51-54,60
2 The Daily Dispatch (Richmond VA), 6-Jul-1859, p.3 ("Ten Years Ago...")
3 The Norfolk Virginian, 7-Jan-1868, p.2 (ad: "Removal! Removal!")
4 Norfolk Landmark, 16-Oct-1896, p.1 ("Drug Establishments Combine.")
5 Street addresses changed in 1897; 142 Main became 296 Main, but was the same location
6 Find-a-grave entry for John W. Burrow
7 Find-a-grave entry for William Rogers Martin
8 Norfolk Journal of Commerce, 17-Oct-1896, p.1


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This page last updated on July 25, 2025.