F. Durr & Co


Company Names, addresses, dates: 1
  F. Durr, Dinwiddie near London, Portsmouth VA (1875)
  F. Durr & Co, High corner Middle, Portsmouth VA (1880-1882)
  Frederick Durr, 301 High, Portsmouth VA (1883-1885)

Notes:
 Frederick Durr (1837-1887)2,3 was a druggist in Portsmouth VA. He shows up in the 1860 US Census as a clerk, living with an apothecary owner named Henry Buff, so it is likely he was a clerk working at Buff's drug store at that time.

The 1870 US Census lists Frederick Durr as a druggist, boarding with a drugstore owner named Samuel Cutherall, so I suspect Durr was working at Cutherall's store at that time.

Somewhere around that time Durr started his own store, called "F. Durr & Co.", as it was mentioned in a newspaper in September 1870.4
That business apparently came to an end in 1871, as the store and all the stock from F. Durr & Co was put up for auction in that year.5

In 1975, Durr opened a new drugstore on Dinwiddie Street, between London and Glassgow Streets. 6
At some point later, Durr took on Edward W. Maupin as a partner, and used the name "F. Durr & Co.". This lasted until 1882, when the partnership was disolved, as Durr bought out his partner and re-took full ownership.7

Between 1882 and 1883 the address in city directories changed from "High Corner Middle" to "301 High", but it appears from modern maps that these 2 addresses refer to the same location.1

The last year Durr's drugstore appears in city directories was 1885. In subsequent years, the drugstore of G.A. Krieger was located at 301 High Street, so apparently Durr sold his store to Krieger. 1


Bottles:
durr_02 This is a 3.4" clear bottle, embossed:
vertical: F DURR / DRUGGIST / PORTSMOUTH, VA.
durr_01 Left bottle is 6.0" tall and the right one is 5.25" tall. Both are clear, and embossed with:
vertical: F DURR & CO / DRUGGISTS / (D&Co monogram) / PORTSMOUTH / VA
base (left bottle): WT&Co / *
base (right bottle): WT&Co / Y


1 Portsmouth VA city directories, years 1851,72,74-75,80,82-83,85-86,89-90,92,97,1900-05,07-08,10-15,17-20,22,24-5,27,30,36-42,44-47,49,51,53-54,56,58-60
2 Find-a-grave entry for Frederick Durr
3 Norfolk Virginian, 2-Dec-1887, p.4 (Obituary for F. Durr, which shows death year listed in find-a-grave was off by a year)
4 Norfolk Virginian, 27-Sep-1870, p.2 (List of stores selling tickets to an event)
5 Norfolk Virginian, 27-May-1871, p.2 (F. Durr & Co stock & store up for auction)
6 Norfolk Landmark, 1-Apr-1875, p.4 (F. Durr opens new drug store announcement)
7 Norfolk Landmark, 5-Feb-1882, p.2 (Dissoloution of Copartnership)


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This page last updated on August 8, 2026.