OLDEST -- Building - Mt. Holly, PA - Superlatives on Waymarking.com

Of all the historic sites in Mount Holly, the Three Tuns Tavern also known as the Mill Street Hotel & Tavern (today), at Pine and Mill Streets is the oldest. Built in 1723 by Samuel Bryant, it has been used as a hotel and a tavern for the past 250 years. There is some Revolutionary War history connected with this site as well as the Court of Admiralty met here during the last year of the Revolutionary War. Given the nearby 7-Eleven and newer homes, this place seems oddly out of place, yet despite its years, it is still in active use. I definitely plan on having a cold one here as soon as summer hits and school lets out.

This inn is prominently featured in a book called Ghosts of Mount Holly: A History of Haunted Happenings by Jan Lynn Bastien (Publication Date: April 25, 2008). The following is an excerpt from the book which helps to explain the ghosts and ghouls of the tavern and Inn: Today, Pavo Leno manages the bar at this historic tavern, and while he and some of his bartenders don't like to discuss the ghosts haunting his establishment, but he does not deny they exist....Then, after much coaxing, he begins to tell about the noises and banging coming from downstairs. He will sometimes leave the bar and go down to investigate; there is never any cause for the sound. His customers have felt someone touch them upon their shoulders. They turn around on their bar stools, expecting to welcome a drinking buddy to sit down and share a brew, only to find there is nobody there. Sometimes the door slams as if somebody just cam in. Again, no one is there.

There is a listing for the inn within the American Guide Series:
5. THE MILL STREET HOTEL (open), 67 Mill St., is the last remnant of the Three Tun Tavern of Colonial times. A "tun" was a hogshead or measure for liquor, and a tavern was known as a one-tun, two-tun or three-tun depending on its size. Erected in 1720, it is one of the oldest buildings in Mt. Holly. The original brick walls, revealed in places through a crumbling coat of stucco, were incorporated in the present structure which , altered many times, is still used as a hotel. A covered cobblestone driveway leads to the rear where stagecoaches once stopped in the carriage yard. --- Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State, 1940; page 294

The Mill Street Tavern was built about forty years after the first settlers arrived in Mount Holly. There appeared to be a need for a place to rest and libation, so the Three Tuns Tavern was built near the mill in Mount Holly, at that time called Bridgetown because of all the bridges over the various feeders to the Rancocas Creek. Samuel Brian Was the first owner and innkeeper, and few changes have been made to the building since his time. it is of course the oldest Inn in Mt. Holly and was grabbed as quarters by the Hessian soldiers during their occupation here in 1776, the DAR reports. Ghosts of Mount Holly: A History of Haunted Happenings

Naturally, a building this old and unique is also a contributing structure to the Mount Holly Historic District. In my never ending quest to document all things contributing, I visited the town library to retrieve the nomination form and narratives for the historic district. The reference desk rewarded me with a very old, crumbling NRHP packet from 1969. Despite what on-line sources would have you believe, there are actually 39 contributing structures and not 36.

From the Nomination Form:

1. THREE TUNS TAVERN .... 1723 ....Mill and Pine Streets
Two and one-half story rectangular Inn; inside end chimneys; Flemish bond brick; three round roofed dormers with 6/6 windows and clapboard sides; second floor windows 6/6; first floor windows were 12/6; gabled roof with box cornices; four bay front porch, two stories; second floor porch enclosed by railing with pierced and carved balusters (H.A.B.S. NJ 230).

Address
Pine & Mill Streets
Mount Holly, NJ 08060