An alleged ‘ghost’ once haunted Bordentown patrons in the 1800s
The Bordentown area is well-known for its historical ties to people such as Thomas Paine, Francis Hopkinson, Clara Barton and Joseph Bonaparte, but the small river community once gained national attention in the 1800s for something obscure rather than historical significance.
According to an article published in the original Bordentown Register in 1877, an “apparition” had been witnessed by multiple patrons in the area for approximately three weeks. The article provided multiple witness statements from locals, who described the unknown figure as “a great deal taller than a man” and “was enshrouded in a black wrapper and appeared to have suddenly issued from the trunk of a tree.” Witnesses said they saw the mysterious figure traversing on Mary Street, Elizabeth Street and Crosswicks Street.
The news phenomenon not only captured the attention of locals, but the story, which was published in November 1877, even traveled as far west as St. Louis where the “The Ghost of Bordentown” was mentioned in the St. Louis Globe.
The original Register News article, which was discovered by Bordentown Historical Society Co-President Doug Kiovsky, said he came across the obscure story when he was sifting through a box of archived local newspapers.
Legends & Lore 