Sheldon L. Toomer

Sheldon Lyne Toomer Jr. (July 14, 1872 – September 27, 1957) was an American politician and businessman. A member of the Alabama Democratic Party, he served in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1935 to 1939, and in the Alabama Senate from 1943 to 1947. He also served as the mayor of Auburn, Alabama in 1918. Education Sheldon Toomer attended Auburn University, which was known at the time as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama. During his time at Auburn, he played halfback for the 1892 Auburn Tigers football team, the first football team at Auburn. He was also a member of Alpha Tau Omega. He graduated in 1893 with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and agriculture. Business career Toomer founded Toomer's Drugs on Toomer's Corner in 1896. He ended up buying the building from J. M. Thomas for $7,000 around the year 1906. He sold the drug business to McAdory "Mac" Libscomb in 1952, who ended up buying the building later in 1974.

Toomer was tired of having to travel seven miles, nearly a full-day round trip, to Opelika just to go to the bank, so he decided to try and form an Auburn bank. He convinced Bennett Battle Ross, Charles Allen Cary, Thomas Bragg, Oliver Steadham, Thomas O Wright, and W. Pierce Zuber to found an Auburn bank. Together they got 33 total investors to commit $25,000 to buying stocks. This formed the Bank of Auburn, known now as AuburnBank, who opened their doors on January 3, 1907. He served as president of the bank for over 4 decades starting in 1908. He represented Lee County in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1935 to 1939. Toomer married Florence Marguerite Prendergast on June 21, 1919, who taught French at Auburn University. They had two children, Margaret Hall and Sheldon Archer Toomer.