Lummus attended Eastman's Business College in Poughkeepsie, New York, from which he graduated in 1888.
Returning to Bronson, Levy County, he managed a mercantile store of his own.
owned a general store in Miami until about 1908 when he sold the business and began investing in real estate and banking.
The Lummus brothers sold land to Carl Fisher and together they developed Miami Beach.
Lummus was president of Southern Bank and Trust and was elected first Mayor of the City of Miami Beach.