Name:  J.J. Beasley-Sheeder Drugstore

Address:  372 Main St.

Landmark Designation: 1990

Construction Date: 1886

Architectural Style: 19th Century Commercial

In 1860, James Jackson Beasley came to Denver from Missouri with a large herd of beef cattle to sell. During the next six years he sold livestock, making three trips to Missouri to buy more stock. In 1863, he brought his family to Colorado and located on a farm in Jefferson County. He became County Commissioner and promoted better roads and irrigation projects. In the winter of 1871, Beasley bought 240 acres on Boulder Creek and relocated his family there, beginning the long tradition of Beasley families in this area. J.J. Beasley was an early promoter of irrigation projects for the Lefthand and Boulder Creek Districts.

J.J. Beasley purchased the property at 372 Main Street in 1886, constructed the building and sold the property and building in 1887. During the next several years, the building changed hands and in 1945, Gaylord Sheeder purchased the building.

Gaylord Sheeder got his start in the pharmacy business at a local drug store while still a high school student in Guthrie Center, Iowa. After graduating from high school in 1930, he attended Capital Commercial College of Pharmacy in Des Moines. After a year in Des Moines, he decided to move to the Capital College of Pharmacy in Denver. Gaylord and his wife, Margaret lived in Boulder for a year and a half before moving to La Junta, where Mr. Sheeder worked at the La Junta Drugstore for nine months. They then moved to Lamar for a short period before moving to Florence for eight years and then to Loveland. After a short stay in Loveland, they moved back to Boulder, all these moves coming in his first ten years as a pharmacist.

In 1945, Sheeder heard that a Longmont pharmacy was for sale. He bought the business and opened on July 1st. In time the store's work force grew to 12 employees to handle the soda fountain and retail sales. By 1950, though, the fountain was closed and the number of workers had shrunk to three.

Over the years, Sheeder Pharmacy became a downtown institution known for friendly service. An era of family-run drugstores, including Lutes Drug Store and Longmont Drug, came to a close in July, 1987 when Gaylord Sheeder decided to retire and closed the pharmacy.

Reference
HPC 1990-1