Bernardsville, Somerset County, NJ 07924

Origins

Settled by the Scotch, Irish and English, Bernardsville was originally a section of Bernards Township known as Vealtown. In 1840, Vealtown became Bernardsville, named after Sir Francis Bernard, colonial governor of New Jersey from 1758 to 1760. Nestled in the northern most part of Somerset County, just 12 miles south of Morristown New Jersey, this rustic community sits in some of the last vestiges of the Great Eastern Forest.

Early Prominence

After the Civil War, many wealthy and prominent New Yorkers moved into the area, first as summer visitors, then as permanent residents. The railroad line was built through Bernardsville in 1872 by one resident who felt he was 'too important to ride in a horse drawn carriage to Summit to catch the train'. It has played an important role in the town's development.

Officialdom

Bernardsville did not become a separate borough until 1924, when it split from Bernards Township. It has a land area of 12.85 square miles with approximately 6,675 residents. Its school system houses 1,570 students in grades K-12. The present Borough Hall, built around 1800, was known as Bunn's Mill and was operated as a grist mill and sawmill, cider mill and distillery in the mid-1800's.

Trivia

James Pitney is credited with being one of the earliest permanent settlers in the area. Records show that by 1730, he owned and sold land, a tract of 123 acres beginning about a mile southwest of the present Bernardsville and stretching northwest. This small community also dates its history to before the Revolution with a small building that now houses the Bernardsville Library. This building was known as the Vealtown Tavern where colonists and Tories alike used to quench their thirst. When G. Washington's army was camped in Jockey Hollow during the winter of '77, they cut a road through the Somerset hills from Mendham to Vealtown so that they could reach the tavern and 'stave off the winter cold'. The execution of a young militiaman near the tavern drove the daughter of the tavern owner to madness (she was in love with the young man). There are some who say that Phyllis can still be seen in the Library on late evenings still looking for her lover.