Local woman recovers washington's forceps
A woman in Somerville recently recovered the forceps used to extract a tooth of General George Washington while his platoon was stationed in Middlebrook, five miles northwest.
Contrary to the myth, George Washington did not have wooden teeth. The United States Revolutionary War general used many sets of dentures, often made of bone, ivory, brass, or human teeth.
The forceps that were used to extract his rotten tooth were crafted in a Somerville forge in the late 1700’s. The blacksmith who made these is still unknown.
Louise West, who brought the forceps to the National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore, has this to say.
“Both my father and his father practiced dentistry in the Somerville area, for a total of 100 years. Back in 1956, a woman walked into my father’s dentist office saying she possessed an artifact that he might be interested in. What she had was a pair of forceps that were used to pull out one of George Washington’s teeth during the revolutionary war.
After receiving these, my father donated them to a local history museum where they would be put on display. One day I went to the museum to see their exhibit and find these forceps. After searching for them, I could not see the forceps on display anywhere. I asked the curator where they were so that I could see them. He told me that they were not on display but instead they were in a storage room ‘out back.’ He went and searched for them and about an hour later came out with the forceps.
The curator gave the forceps to me because he didn’t think the museum was going to use them. After taking them home and giving some thought, I decided to donate the forceps to the National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore. This museum is part of the University of Baltimore College of Dentistry, where both my father and grandfather attended. This exhibit is the largest and most significant of its kind. The forceps are no longer in a back storage room, now they are on display for everyone to see. Currently, they are on loan to the museum, but will always stay in my family’s possession.”
Mrs. West has recovered a unique artifact and relocated it to somewhere that thousands of people will be able to see and enjoy it. She has played a role in the critical act of preserving our country’s history. -GW