HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
An 18th-century tavern where Continental troops stopped during the Revolutionary War, and where legend says the innkeeper's daughter still haunts the building
2 Morristown Rd, Bernardsville, NJ 07924
Research updated October 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
The building is no longer a public library; it was sold and adapted to commercial use in 1999, so it is best seen from the sidewalk.
Access
Limited Access
Historic two-story building in town center; exterior accessible from sidewalk
Equipment
Photos OK
Revolutionary War tavern stop · One of Somerset County's oldest surviving structures · Continental Army route Morristown–Princeton
The structure at 2 Morristown Road was built perhaps by 1730 and certainly by 1750, and operated as the Vealtown Tavern in the town then called Vealtown — later renamed Bernardsville. Captain John Parker ran the tavern. During the Revolutionary War the building sat on the Continental Army's line of march between Morristown and Princeton, and troops passing through used it as a rest stop. Washington's forces are among those documented as having stayed or watered horses at the location.
On January 2, 1781, General Anthony Wayne met at the tavern with soldiers on their way to Philadelphia to present claims for back pay and supplies, and dispatches were stolen from him during one of his stays there. A Tory spy was hanged for the crime. According to legend, Phyllis, the innkeeper's daughter, was engaged to the man and still haunts the building.
The Bernardsville Library Association acquired the building in 1900. It became the Bernardsville Library in 1903 and served that purpose until 1999, when it was sold and adapted to commercial use.
The library moved to 1 Anderson Hill Road. The old building retains its architectural character.
Sources
Local accounts trace the Phyllis Parker legend to 1875, when residents of the building are said to have reported hearing a woman screaming with no identifiable source. The story of Phyllis and the continuing haunting is local legend rather than documented history. In the local telling, the haunting went quiet for nearly a century before resuming after 1974 renovation work on the library building — a pattern familiar at other historic properties where construction appears to correlate with renewed paranormal activity.
Library employees after the 1974 renovation reported a female apparition in the building, a woman's voice, and a repeated sound described as a box lid slamming shut — which the local story calls an echo of the crate said to have held Dr. Byram's body. The apparition was specific enough that library staff gave Phyllis a card in her name, framing her as an active participant in the library community.
The story's ambiguity runs deep. The Patch article on Phyllis Parker notes that a 2016 library program was organized specifically to examine 'what we do and don't know about Phyllis, historical background, and sightings,' suggesting the historical record remains genuinely incomplete. The spy's name has been rendered as both Dr. Byram and Aaron Wilde in different sources, and whether he was actually guilty is, per the biblioccult.com account, unknown.
Notable Entities
The former Vealtown Tavern building, which later served as the Bernardsville Public Library until the library moved to 1 Anderson Hill Road, stands at 2 Morristown Road in the town center. The structure, built perhaps by 1730 and certainly by 1750, is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Somerset County and is visible from the sidewalk.
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