The Tooth Fairy's Stash Found

By M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
Construction workers are used to finding unusual things in the walls of older buildings, but in Valdosta, Georgia they were dumbfounded when a stash of hundreds of human teeth were found buried inside of a second-floor wall, which was cracked during renovations. 

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Hundreds of teeth found inside the wall of what was once a dental office c.2018

Four days before Halloween, 2018 the Converse Building in downtown Valdosta was under renovation as a commercial space, when construction crew members cracked open a wall and stood back when what appeared to be hundreds of human teeth spilled out of the hole.

The building was constructed in 1900, and one of the first tenants was Dr. Clarence Whittington (1877-1944) a dentist. In 1911, another dentist, Dr. Lester G. Youmans (1882-1946) rented space there until at least 1930. The same year, Dr. W.C. Posey (1882-1964) opened a new office over Vinson's Drug Store.  The first floor of the building was originally occupied by Vinson and Barnes Drug Store, so it's understood the dental offices were on the 2nd floor where the teeth were found.

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Hundreds of teeth were found behind a wall of what was once a dental office in Cadiz, KY c.2000

What's even more unusual is that two other Georgia cities, Greensboro and Carrolton, have buildings were human teeth were found in the walls. 

In 2000, the old Western Auto Building in Cadiz, Kentucky was being renovated and coverted to Cadiz City Hall. The structure dated back to the Civil War.

The interior walls were stripped and cleaned out, and just like the discovery in 2018, behind a wall on the second floor a worker found hundreds of human teeth. No one could figure out how, or why teeth would have been stored inside the wall.

Contact with a local historical society provided a hint. Dr. Bernard Hale operated a dental office in the building in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Considering the size of a tooth, one would think there would be no trouble in disposing of them even 100 years ago. Though the myth of the tooth fairy is well known in the United States, this usually involves human "baby" teeth that a child leaves under their pillow in exchange for money, however most of the teeth did not belong to children.

Certain occult practices such as hoodoo use adult, human teeth in rituals, fetishes or mojo bags to symbolize biting or obtaining things by force. They are even used as lucky pieces or for divination. The mystery still remains as to why anyone, especially a dentist, would decide to hoard hundreds of human teeth behind the wall of their office.

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Advertisement for Dr. Posey's new office over Vinson Pharmacy c.1911

In a strange twist in 1984, J.W. Vinson whose family had owned the Vinson Drug Store located in the Converse Building was beaten and strangled to death by a 19-year-old man. Police said there was no evidence of robbery or that Vinson had encountered an intruder.

His body was found in a bedroom of his Railroad Street home. He was a bachelor and lived alone. His sister was the one who found him. He had continued in the family business and worked as a pharmacist at the store until 1981, and had sold the business to a cousin

He was a popular figure in Byron known for helping disadvantaged teenagers.

John William Barnes who was accused of killing Vinson had once lived with Vinson, and was unemployed when he was arrested.

Law enforcement officials had little to say about the murder, citing a lack of evidence to establish a motive. Even stranger was that after the initial report of the crime, no other mention was made of what happened to the man accused of the murder, what the motive was (if any), and the outcome of the autopsy. Considering that the victim was a well-known resident of the town,  it seemed an odd aspect that everything was shut down.

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