The Liberty Pole and the Jean Bonnet Tavern Ghost, Bedford PA

Reviewed by Josh N · Updated September 21, 2026 · How we verify

Fieldstone walls more than two feet thick, four interior levels, and a bar that has been serving travelers on and off since the eighteenth century: the building at the fork of two old roads outside Bedford, Pennsylvania has outlasted almost everything around it. The Jean Bonnet Tavern ghost, according to local folklore, never left it. What follows separates what the record shows from what guests and employees say they have seen.

Quick Facts on the Stone House at the Forks

Also known as Old Forks Inn and Bonnet’s Tavern. It sits just outside Bedford on U.S. Highway 30 at the junction with Pennsylvania Route 31, close enough to be seen from the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The stone structure was raised in 1763. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and it operates today as a bed and breakfast, tavern and gift shop.

From the Penn Family to Robert Callender

The paper trail starts with land rather than a building. The original 690 acre parcel passed from the William Penn family to a land speculator named Hans Ireland. The British first recognized the ground as belonging to Robert Callender, a trader with the Native American tribes of Pennsylvania. It transferred to Callender in 1762, and in 1763 the large stone structure went up.

Its placement was deliberate. The site was intended as a safe haven for settlers moving through the area, and as the site of a French fort and trading post. Travelers heading for what they called the “Old Shawnese Cabins”, the land that is Shawnee State Park today, mentioned the tavern in their personal journals.

1794: Whiskey Rebels Raise a Pole Outside

Jean (John) Bonnet bought the land and the building in 1779 and opened it as an inn and tavern. Fifteen years later it became a political address. During the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion, local Pennsylvanian farmers protesting the federal tax on whiskey gathered here and raised a Liberty pole at the tavern as a symbol of their defiance. The protests were suppressed months later by forces under President George Washington.

Ownership has turned over many times since. The building has mostly stayed a tavern and inn, though some owners converted it into a private residence. The Bonnett family of West Virginia are the direct descendants of Jean Bonnet and trace their family history back nearly 400 years.

What Guests and Staff Say They See at the Bar

The paranormal reputation has a datable starting point in print. In 1957 the property was purchased by the Enyeart family, and during their ownership the stories of paranormal events in the building began being publicized.

The core claim is consistent and modest. Local folklore among guests and employees describes a lone figure roaming the building and drinking at the tavern bar. That figure is said to be Bonnet himself. There is no documented incident behind the story, no record of a death offered to explain it, and no verification of any sighting. It is a reported experience passed between people who work and stay in an old building, and it is fair to say it has become part of the inn’s appeal rather than a mystery anyone has tried to solve. The tavern was featured on the television series “My Ghost Story” on April 30, 2011.

The Architecture Is the Reason to Come

Even with the ghost story set aside, the structure repays a slow look. It stands two and a half to three and a half stories and measures 40 feet by 51 feet, built of native cut fieldstone, with two levels of porches running the entire length of both the front and rear elevations. Inside, four levels hold close to 8,000 square feet, with large exposed chestnut beams and massive stove fireplaces. The walls are more than two feet thick, which is why the place still feels like what it originally was: shelter on a dangerous road.

Staying and Eating at Bonnet’s Tavern

This is a working business, not a ruin or a tour-only site. It runs as a bed and breakfast tavern with a gift shop, so a room can be booked and the bar, the one the figure is supposed to favor, is open to anyone who comes for a meal. A small garden and a goat pen sit outside. The junction of U.S. 30 and Pennsylvania Route 31 makes it an easy stop for anyone crossing the state on the old Lincoln Highway rather than the turnpike.

Address: 6048 Lincoln Highway, Bedford vicinity, Bedford County, PA

See Jean Bonnet Tavern for Yourself

Sources

• If These Old Walls Could Talk: History of the Jean Bonnet
• National Register of Historic Places Registration: Pennsylvania SP Bonnet's Tavern (Archives (official))
• NPGallery NRHP Archive Search (National Park Service)
• Library of Congress
• explorepahistory.com
• Wikipedia: Jean Bonnet Tavern

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