Town Goes for a Bargain

TOOMSBORO, GA-Most of the tiny town of Toomsboro–population 600–has a pair of new owners. Built in the mid-1800s as a cotton-shipping stop on the railroad that crossed the state, Toomsboro lies some 115 miles southeast of Atlanta and 32 miles east of Macon, GA, in Central Georgia.

Two businessmen from neighboring Jones County won the bid at auction for much of the town property. Bill Lucado and his partner, construction contractor Alan Schomber, paid $265,000. Such a deal. They now own the locally well-known Swampland Opera building, a restored 1880s hotel, an old cotton warehouse, a restaurant, store, and several houses and vacant lots. Sellers Edwin and Margaret Lavender put their holdings up for sale to the highest bidder.