Eastern California Museum

100 years ago, if you lived long enough in the rural American West, it was entirely reasonable, that at some point, you might find yourself with a ever shrinking amount of teeth and a surplus of coyotes. Such was the position George Washington Hancock found himself in the early part of the twentieth century in Independence, California. In desperate need of dentures and lacking the funds for professional pair from a dentist, George decided to take matters into his own hands.

Melting down the handles of resin toothbrushes and using teeth from the local coyote population, George fashioned himself a remarkable and nightmare inducing set of prosthetic chompers which he wore for years.  One can only speculate how popular this made him with other residents of Independence and sadly there are no known pictures of George wearing his coyote canines.

In 1946, Dr. Douglas Dyer moved to the area to practice dentistry. Upon hearing of George and his dentures he sought out George and offered a trade of a professional set of dentures in exchange for this unique dental curiosity. After Dr. Dyer's death, his widow, Florence donated them to the Eastern California Museum which is where you can find them today. 

The Eastern California Museum is located less than a mile off Highway 395 in the town of Independence, California. Tucked idyllically up against the soaring Eastern Sierras,the museum's grounds feature a native plants walk, historical buildings, and mining equipment and house a working narrow-gauge steam locomotive, the Southern Pacific 18. 

Inside, the small museum features an extensive collection of local Paiute and Timbisha basketry, artifacts, historical photographs other interesting local objects of wonder. The small museum also features an extensive collection of photographs and personal items that belonged to the American citizens of Japanese ancestry that were held captive at the Manzanar concentration camp from 1942 to 1945. Of note is the original pitcher's plate from the baseball field uncovered at the camp where the Americans would play baseball to pass the time while in the camps. 

Aside from the coyote teeth dentures, don't miss the working 1896 Regina Music Box and the impressive collection of Edward S. Curtis photographs.