A Quaker farmhouse started in 1672 by Mary Willets, occupied by Hessian and British soldiers for eight years during the Revolution, and now a restaurant where a child's footprint keeps reappearing in the second-floor hardwood.
585 N Broadway, Jericho, NY 11753
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Restaurant with full dining; reservations accepted through website. Seasonal Halloween village and haunted attraction in October. No admission fee for dining.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic building with some original floor levels; main dining areas accessible
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1672 · Built 1672 by Mary Willets — Quaker community founding structure · British and Hessian soldiers quartered for nearly eight years during Revolution · Operated by Quaker minister Elias Hicks c.1783 · Believed Underground Railroad stop during abolitionist period
The Milleridge Inn's oldest section — the two-room house with a central fireplace that forms the core of the building — was constructed in 1672 by Mary Willets, a member of the Quaker Willets family. The Willets were among Jericho's founding Quaker households, and their presence in the area shaped the character of what was then a small agricultural community on the Hempstead Plains.
By the Revolutionary War era the building was functioning as a wayside inn. When British forces occupied Long Island after the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, soldiers were quartered throughout the area under the practice of forced billeting; at the Milleridge the occupation lasted for nearly eight years, through the end of the war in 1783. Hessian mercenaries fighting alongside British forces were also reported among the occupants.
Around 1783, with the British departed, the inn came under the operation of Elias Hicks, a prominent Quaker minister who would later lead the separation of Quaker factions in 1827 known as the Hicksite Schism. During the abolitionist period of the early-to-mid 1800s, the inn is understood to have served as a stop on the Underground Railroad — consistent with the Quaker community's documented involvement in that network on Long Island.
The inn has operated as a restaurant for more than 80 years and now anchors the Milleridge Village complex, which includes specialty shops, a carriage house bar (Carriage House), bakery, ice cream parlor, general store, and Christmas shop.
Sources
The Milleridge Inn's most concrete paranormal claim — one that owner Butch Yamali has confirmed publicly — is a child's footprint in the hardwood flooring on the second floor. Staff have stripped, sanded, and refinished the boards multiple times; the footprint returns. The CBS New York coverage notes Yamali's own account: staff and guests avoid certain rooms, and the rocking chair in the director's room moves on its own.
A 2021 investigation documented in the Long Island Press produced more specific findings. Using a spirit box — a device that sweeps radio frequencies, producing static that investigators interpret for audible words — the team made EVP contact with a child spirit who gave the name Anna in the living room. A second, male spirit called out the lead investigator's name through the same device. These results are typical of spirit box work and represent interpretation of audio rather than verifiable record; they are presented here as reported.
Other recurring accounts across multiple sources include baby cradles that sway, doors closing without wind or draft, full apparitions of a couple dancing on the second floor, a woman at the top of the staircase, and a child sitting fully manifested in a hallway chair.
The building's eight-year wartime occupation, its multiple ownership transitions, and its more than 350 years of continuous use as a structure on the same site give investigators a range of candidate periods against which to assess the reports.
Notable Entities
Classic American dining in a 350-year-old building. The original 1672 Willets structure forms the core of the restaurant; subsequent additions over three centuries are visible in the varying room levels and construction styles. The second-floor area with the noted child's footprint can sometimes be seen on tours during the Halloween season.
Each October the surrounding Milleridge Village transforms into a seasonal haunted attraction. The complex includes shops, a carriage house bar, and seasonal events. Check website for current year's programming.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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