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All the United States New York State New York City Sleepy Hollow The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow

The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow

Oldest existing church in New York and the inspiration for Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

Sleepy Hollow, New York

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Nick Jackson
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The Old Dutch Church overlooks an old cemetery (the Sleepy Hollow cemetery is nearby).   Gryffindor/CC by SA 3.0
The Old Dutch Church overlooks an old cemetery (the Sleepy Hollow cemetery is nearby).   Gryffindor/CC by SA 3.0
The Old Dutch Church has been standing since the late 1690s.   (WT-shared) SHC/CC by-SA 2.5
This scene captures the Old Dutch Church at the turn of the 20th century.   Digital Public Library of America/Public Domain
This lithograph shows the pastoral environs around the church as they looked circa 1860.   Library of Congress/Public Domain
Inside, the Old Dutch Church is airy and full of light—and an organ.   Gryffindor/CC by SA 3.0
Washington Irving is buried nearby in the Sleepy Hollow cemetery.   Jujus367/CC BY-SA 3.0
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The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow   Matthew H Ward / Atlas Obscura User
The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow   Matthew H Ward / Atlas Obscura User
The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow   Matthew H Ward / Atlas Obscura User
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The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow   Matthew H Ward / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The oldest existing church in New York, the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow (also known as the Dutch Reformed Church) and its two-and-a-half-acre colonial-era burying ground served as the inspiration for Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."

Published in 1820, Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is the first story written by an American to achieve universal acclaim. It is widely read and the subject of over a half dozen major films.  It tells the story of Ichabod Crane, a superstitious schoolmaster from Connecticut who competes with Abraham Van Brunt, a local Dutch-American, known as "Brom Bones" for the hand of Katrina Van Tassel, daughter of a "substantial Dutch farmer." Following an autumn "frolic" at the Van Tassels', Schoolmaster Crane mysteriously disappears. Many claimed Ichabod was driven off by the galloping headless ghost of a Hessian trooper who got decapitated by a cannonball during the American Revolutionary War. Brom, however, looked "exceedingly knowing whenever the story of Ichabod was related." Thus, Irving leaves the reader wondering if the goblin chased off the schoolmaster, or could it have been Van Brunt?

Founded in 1685, the church is among the oldest in the United States and still has an active congregation. Construction began around 1682 by Frederick Philipse, lord of a huge manor in the lower Hudson Valley. His lordship built with the church two-foot-thick walls composed of local fieldstone. A carpenter by trade, he built the pulpit himself and lies buried with thirteen family members under the church floorboards.  

The Friends of the Old Dutch Church and Burying Ground, a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization, maintains and preserves the site. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 1961. Today, the church is owned by the Reformed Church of the Tarrytowns and still used for summer services and on Easter and Christmas Eve.

Among the notables buried on in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery adjacent to the church's grounds are Andrew Carnegie, Walter Chrysler, Samuel Gompers, Elizabeth Arden, Leona Helmsley, Brooke Astor, and William Rockefeller. The cemetery also holds the remains of local people who inspired Washington Irving's "Sleepy Hollow" characters.  Every autumn, tens of thousands of visitors flock to the Old Dutch Church and the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery for seasonal events that draw on the legend.

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Cemeteries Churches Memento Mori Catacombs And Crypts Intriguing Environs Sacred Spaces Ecosystems

Know Before You Go

The closest Metro-North stop is Philipse Manor, which is about a half-mile walk to the church. There's plenty of overflow parking, but expect heavy traffic throughout autumn.

 

Community Contributors

Added By

nbj914

Edited By

jonatales, pauljuser, thegenxjourney, jessicahester1...

  • jonatales
  • pauljuser
  • thegenxjourney
  • jessicahester1
  • missingfilm
  • TheKopasClan
  • Matthew H Ward
  • SemiruralYeti
  • alittlebrowndog
  • jyackabonis
  • sorcha1977
  • DJ BAHLER
  • Julius Spada
  • amberbluemayer
  • ElusivePenguin

Published

August 3, 2010

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Sources
  • The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery: http://sleepyhollowcemetery.org/
  • Wikipedia: Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Dutch_Church_of_Sleepy_Hollow
  • Friends of the Old Dutch Burying Ground: http://www.olddutchburyingground.org/
  • Wikipedia: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Sleepy_Hollow
  • http://www.odcfriends.org/
  • http://visitsleepyhollow.com/historic-sites/sleepy-hollow-cemetery/
  • https://www.hudsonvalley.org/
  • Legends and Lore of Sleepy Hollow and the Hudson Valley by Jonathan Kruk, The History Press 2011
The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow
420 N. Broadway
Sleepy Hollow, New York
United States
41.089907, -73.862076
Visit Website
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