The Norfolk and Portsmouth Cotton Exchange was organized in 1874 and incorporated on February 17, 1877. The Exchange opened for business on August 3, 1877 at 72 Water Street in Norfolk, Virginia. Its purpose was "to provide and maintain suitable rooms for an Exchange in the city of Norfolk; to adjust controversies between members; to establish just and equitable principles, uniform usages, rules and regulations, and all transactions connected with the trade; to acquire, preserve and disseminate information connected therewith, and generally to promote the interest of the trade, and increase the facilities and the amount of business in the cities of Norfolk and Portsmouth."

Later, the Exchange operated from various locations on West Main Street. The Norfolk and Portsmouth Cotton Exchange made its final home in the Atlantic City portion of Norfolk on Front Street. The business closed in the 1930s due to expansion of the export cotton industry in more western regions of the United States, including Texas, Louisiana, and California.