History & local legend
The Mansion House at 37 Bridge Street in Phoenixville later became known as the Pickering Creek Inn. An 1886 map identifies the hotel under its older name, connecting the modern inn with a long-standing town landmark.
Its best-known named ghost is Jeremy, described as a Civil War soldier in D. P. Roseberry’s Ghosts of Valley Forge and Phoenixville. His unusual calling card is a single rose that he is said to make spin.
The building also became a setting for organized ghost tours and séances. Renovations in 2003 revealed a hidden room, which Ghost Tours of Phoenixville later photographed and used for gatherings.
Sources
- D. P. Roseberry, Ghosts of Valley Forge and Phoenixville, Schiffer Publishing, author’s entry for Jeremy and the rose
- Ghost Tours of Phoenixville, organizers’ September 2008 gallery identifies the séances, hidden room and both names of the inn
- Library of Congress, January 1886 Phoenixville Sanborn survey, sheet 4, the Mansion House footprint and number 37
- Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office, Mansion House, 37 East Bridge Street
- Pickering Creek Inn, operator’s site and 37 Bridge Street address
