HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
An 1710 tavern where Washington's troops drank and a physician lodger was hanged as a spy in 1777 — his fiancée's reported screams have echoed through every subsequent occupant
2 Morristown Rd, Bernardsville, NJ 07924
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
The building is no longer an active public library; exterior viewing only unless private events are scheduled. Check local historical society for interior access.
Access
Limited Access
Historic two-story building in town center; exterior accessible from sidewalk
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1710 · 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 around 1710 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.
The haunting legend is rooted in events from early 1777. A physician named Dr. Byram lodged at the tavern and became romantically involved with Parker's daughter Phyllis. After General Anthony Wayne lost a pouch of classified documents during a stay at the tavern, Byram was the only lodger without an alibi. He was seized, tried for espionage, and executed. His body was delivered back to the tavern in a crate.
When Phyllis Parker opened the crate, she suffered what contemporary accounts describe as a complete mental breakdown. She reportedly wept and wailed in the taproom for an extended period. The historical record does not establish where or when she died; one version suggests suicide, but this is not documented. A woman's screaming was first reported by residents in 1875, and library employees after 1974 renovations described a female apparition and the sound of a box lid slamming.
The library moved to 1 Anderson Hill Road. The old building retains its architectural character and the town identifies it with the Phyllis Parker legend in historical programming.
Sources
The Phyllis Parker legend has a specific and documented origin point in 1875: that year, residents of the building reported hearing a woman screaming with no identifiable source. The accounts were detailed enough to enter the local record. 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 — an echo of the crate containing 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 1710 structure is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Somerset County and is visible from the sidewalk. The Bernardsville Public Library at its new location offers historical programming about Phyllis Parker.
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