Portsmouth Pharmacy / Dews & Maupin


Company Names, addresses, dates:1
  E.W. Maupin & Co, High Street near Court Street, Portsmouth VA (1872)
  E.W. Maupin & Co, 65 High Street, Portsmouth VA (1874-1875)
  Portsmouth Pharmacy, Dews & Maupin props., 301 High Street, Portsmouth VA (1900-1903)
  Maupin's Pharmacy, 301 High Street, Portsmouth VA (1904-1905)
  Julius N. Dews & Co, 201 Effingham St., Portsmouth VA (1911-1913)
  Julius N. Dews, 601 Washington St., Portsmouth VA (1914)
  Dews Drug Store, 601 High St. corner Washington St., Portsmouth VA (1915-1919)

Notes:
 Edward W. Maupin (1849-1907)2,3 was the son of a physician, Dr. George W.O. Maupin2. City directories show he ran a drug store at High Street near Court Street starting on or before 1872.

In 1900, Dews & Maupin took over the drugstore of George A. Kreiger 4. I think this was probably the same Edward W. Maupin, and I think his partner was Julius N. Dews. According to city Directories, the store was called the "Portsmouth Pharmacy" at first, breifly called "Dews & Maupin", then later it was called "Maupin's Pharmacy", as Dews apparently dropped out1.

Julius N. Dews (1872-1926)5 passed his exam and became a regular druggist in 18926.
An article in the 1902 issue of Scientific American magazine said that J.N. Dews had invented a pill-making machine designed to cut a roll of material into the desired number of sections to provide the desired number of pills7.

The last year Dews Drug Store shows up in city directories was 1919. In later years, the Washington Pharmacy was located at 601 High Street, the address the Dews Drug Store had occupied.


Bottles:
portsmouth_01 This is a clear 4.25" bottle embossed:
horizontal: THE PORTSMOUTH PHARMACY / Dews & Maupin / S.W. COR. HIGH AND MAIN STS.
base: W T & CO / C / U.S.A.


Other Items:
portsmouth_02 This is a clear 1.9" tall dose glass, embossed:
oval slug plate: PORTSMOUTH / PHARMACY / PORTSMOUTH, VA.
back:TABLE / DESSERT / TEA
base: M&CO / NY (inside keystone symbol)


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 1870 U.S. Census, Portsmouth Jackson Ward, Norfolk VA, George W.O. Maupin family
3 Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk VA) newspaper, August 20 1907, page 8 (obituary for Edward W Maupin)
4 Norfolk Virginian Newspaper, 03-Mar-1900, page 11
5 VA Death certificate 26983 for Julius N. Dews in Norfolk VA, died 2-Nov-1926
6 Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk VA) newspaper, March 20 1892, page 5
7 Scientific American magazine, volume 87 Number 06 (August 1902)


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This page last updated on August 7, 2026.