Sheldon L. Toomer
Sheldon Lyne Toomer Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Alabama, United States |
| Died | September 27, 1957 (aged 85) |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, politician |
| Years active | 1896–1952 (business), 1898–1947 (politics) |
| Known for | Founder of Toomer's Drugs, president of Bank of Auburn, Alabama state legislator, mayor of Auburn |
Sheldon Lyne Toomer Jr. (July 14, 1872 – September 27, 1957) was a prominent American businessman and political figure. Affiliated with the Alabama Democratic Party, he held office in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1935 until 1939 and later in the Alabama Senate between 1943 and 1947. Additionally, he briefly occupied the position of mayor of Auburn, Alabama in the year 1918.
Education
Toomer pursued his studies at Auburn University, which was then identified as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama. He participated as a halfback on the first-ever Auburn Tigers football squad in 1892 and was affiliated with the fraternity Alpha Tau Omega. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree specializing in chemistry and agriculture in 1893. Following three years of teaching at Texas A&M University, Toomer returned to Auburn to complete a pharmacy degree in 1897.
Business career
In 1896, Toomer established Toomer's Drugs located at Toomer's Corner. Around 1906, he acquired the property from J. M. Thomas for $7,000. The drugstore remained under his ownership until 1952 when he sold it to McAdory "Mac" Libscomb, who eventually purchased the building itself in 1974.
Motivated by inconvenience due to a seven-mile journey to Opelika for banking services, Toomer spearheaded the creation of a local financial institution. Collaborating with Bennett Battle Ross, Charles Allen Cary, Thomas Bragg, Oliver Steadham, Thomas O Wright, and W. Pierce Zuber, they gathered 33 investors who pledged $25,000 to establish the Bank of Auburn—presently known as AuburnBank—which commenced operations on January 3, 1907. Beginning in 1908, Toomer held the presidency of the bank for more than four decades.
Political career
Toomer's public service included a 24-year tenure on the Auburn City Council starting in 1898 and a term as mayor in 1918. He represented Lee County in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1935 through 1939. In an uncontested election in 1942, he secured a seat in the Alabama State Senate representing the 27th district, serving from 1943 until 1947.
Personal life
Born to Sheldon Toomer Sr., Lee County’s inaugural state legislator, and Wilhelmina "Willie" Lyne, Toomer married Florence Marguerite Prendergast—who taught French at Auburn University—on June 21, 1919. The couple had two children: Margaret Hall and Sheldon Archer Toomer.