Located in the oldest known tobacco warehouse standing in the city’s Tobacco District (a National Register Historic District), Frederick Trading Company is one of Danville’s newest enterprises. This substantial two- and three-story brick building, constructed in 1913 as Cabell Warehouse, was designed to conform to an irregular site formed when Patton Street was curved and extended to Bridge Street about 1904. This structure replaced an earlier Cahell Warehouse, a rambling clapboard warehouse, built on much the same site in the l880s. The property had long been significant for its proximity to Main Street Bridge (and its predecessors dating back as far as the l780s), the major route for farmers bringing their tobacco to the Danville market. Owing perhaps to the increasing popularity of the automobile at what is still one of Danville’s busiest intersections, the use of the 1913 brick Cabell Warehouse for the auction sale of tobacco was short-lived. By 1920, the Piedmont Motor Company moved into the building. This dealership, operated by Mr. W.E. Gardner, first sold Cadillac and Dodge cars, and later as Gardner Motor Company was the city’s Dodge showroom and sales office for some 40 years. 

After several projects involving adaptive reuse failed to materialize in the early l9SOs, the deteriorated structure was purchased and rehabilitated for Frederick Trading Company, a corporation founded by Mr. James F. Sutherland about a year ago. The store features an array of furnishings, gifts, accessory items and jewelry. Unique imports, products made here in Virginia, as well as one-of-a- kind pieces are offered for sale here.