Sitting on the corner of College Street and Magnolia Avenue lies Toomer’s Drugs, the beloved Auburn landmark. Founded in 1896 by Sheldon “Shel” Toomer, the drugstore quickly became a staple of the Auburn downtown area and a hotspot for Auburn traditions.
From its beginning, Toomer’s has been intertwined with the history of Auburn University. Shel Toomer was an Auburn graduate in chemistry, agriculture and pharmacy. He also played halfback on Auburn’s first football team in 1892 and was heavily involved in politics, serving as the mayor in 1918 and a city council member for 24 years. Eventually, Toomer served in the Alabama House of Representatives and Senate and, later in life, on the Auburn University Board of Trustees.
According to Elizabeth Lipscomb, an Opelika native and the 97-year-old wife of late Toomer’s Drugs owner McAdory “Mac” Lipscomb, Toomer was always in touch with his community, especially the university. When the awning for the storefront needed to be redone, he held a design competition for architecture students. The winner’s design was used for the awning, which remains in the internal awning structure today.
Even after Toomer sold the business to Lipscomb in 1952, Toomer’s Drugs remained a fixture in the city and university’s culture. It was during this time that the store established two beloved Auburn customs: rolling Toomer’s Corner and the drug store’s beloved lemonade.
In the 1960s, the drugstore was the only place in the city with a telegraph. When employees heard about the football team’s away game victories, they would roll power lines with ticker tape. Eventually, students also began participating, and Auburn embraced the tradition. As time went on, power lines went underground, and ticker tape was traded for toilet paper. Today, rolling Toomer’s Corner remains as a celebration for any Auburn victory.
Despite its now-famous status, Toomer’s lemonade was not always a staple of the drugstore. According to Nim Lipscomb, the son of Mac Lipscomb, James Echols was the one who perfected and popularized the drink. Described by Lipscomb as an “integral employee,” Echols was a beloved member of the store who delivered medicine and worked the counter, which included making and serving drinks. To this day, his photo is displayed in the store.
“One day, when I was working in there, he mixed up a lemonade and set it down on the counter,” said Nim, reflecting on the past. “I looked at him and said, ‘What’s this for?’ He said, ‘In about two minutes, the guy’s gonna come through this, and he’s gonna ask for this drink, so give it to him.’ I gave it to him, and the guy goes, ‘I want him to make it,’ so I said ‘’Well, he made it. He saw you coming.’ James was a fixture, for sure.”
Today, the Toomer’s Drugs business is owned and operated by Betty Haisten, while the building itself belongs to the Lipscomb family. The drug store still sells its famous lemonade along with other beverages, ice cream and Auburn-themed souvenirs. Residents, students and alumni alike still come to the store to celebrate their love for what Toomer’s represents: the Auburn Family.
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