Sleepy Hollow

Last weekend my parents, older brother and I took a day trip upstate about 50 min. to the small town of Tarrytown (aka Sleepy Hollow).

Tarrytown is immortalized through a small yet very famous short story by Washington Irving: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. And while the modern town is not quite like the 19th-century village depicted  by Irving, it still maintains a lot of its beautiful and historic upstate charm.

The main Sleepy Hollow attractions to see are the Old Dutch Burying Ground, the Old Dutch Church, and Philipsburg Manor. Sleepy Hollow was settled largely by Dutch immigrants in the 17th century, with the first recorded residence dating to 1645. The Old Dutch Church and Burying Ground are the most concrete remnants of these early settlers, offering a small glimpse into their lives and deaths.

The Old Dutch Church is in fact the oldest existing church in New York State, completed in 1685. It still functions as a church in the summer, and every Christmas Eve there is a special evening mass where the old wood-burning fireplace is used to heat the building. The oldest decipherable graves in the burying ground  reach into the mid-18th century. Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, just next to the burying ground, is the location of Washington Irving's grave.

The church was constructed by Frederick Philipse, a Dutch farmer who owned a considerable amount of land along the Hudson River. Just across the river from the church and burying ground are a grain mill and country manor owned by Philipse and run largely by his slaves.

A bit ethereal any time of year, I'm sure you can imagine the beauty and life of this place in the Fall (around Halloween of course)- with brightly colored trees, crisp cool weather and a whistling autumn wind. The city does a lot of events to celebrate Irving's story then, including a nighttime display of several thousand carved pumpkins, nighttime tours of the cemetery, tours of the manor, a big Halloween parade and public readings of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

It was a great weekend visit, but I'm really hoping to make it back a month and a half from now, when all the real action is taking place. I love Fall, and Halloween, and what better place to enjoy the two than in Sleepy Hollow.