This article was written by Rachel McGinnis
Washington Irving, the first professional man of letters in the United States, is known for his contributions to the literary field through his essays and short stories. Writing for a number of periodicals as well as composing several novels, his work was considerably varied and ranged in genre from historical and biographical books, such as his biography of George Washington, to satirical essays that commented on the social, cultural, and political values of his time. While composing these literary works, this author employed several pseudonyms that he periodically changed throughout his career. Irving gained considerable popularity from the publication of A History of New York as Diedrick Knickerbocker and again, under the name of Geoffrey Crayon, with The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent, which contained roughly thirty-four parts including Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Although the majority of his work was typically classified as fiction, this author based a sizeable portion of his literary pieces on his own experiences. His works are riddled with traces of his life, ranging from the scenic landscapes his visited to the folklore and stories he encountered while traveling. Sleepy Hollow, a story that was published in 1820 while Irving was living in Birmingham, England, pairs Dutch folklore with the picturesque 18th century Dutch settlements of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, both found in the state of New York. Although historians are unable to pinpoint exactly when Irving encountered the terrifying legend of the headless villain, which is a common element in German folklore, they are able to narrow it down to his childhood when he lived in New York and potentially associated with Dutch settlers or the period he spent studying German history in Europe around 1817.
Together, with his knowledge of the Hudson Valley area, Irving weaved an intricate tale of a headless Hessian soldier that roamed the dark wooded paths of Sleepy Hollow nightly, searching for his head that had been lost in a nameless battle. Irving's tale takes the reader to the Burying Ground of the Old Dutch Church, through the forests that shroud the Hudson Valley, over rickety bridges, to a millpond and various other regions that define the scenic Hudson Valley in his descriptive, geographically rooted tale. Today, because of Irving's mysterious story, these areas have become national landmarks. They are bewitching attractions that allow any adventurous reader to follow the precise path Ichabod Crane took while fleeing from the Headless Horseman in the final sections of the thrilling legend, which is exactly what this traveler did.
The origin of Ichabod's final journey begins at Sunnyside Manor, the house in which Washington Irving spent the last years of his life composing his biography of the first president. Describing his purchase of the home in 1835, Irving wrote, "It is a beautiful spot, capable of being made a little paradise. There is a small stone Dutch cottage on it, built about a century since, and inhabited by one of the Van Tassels." As a result of Irving's eventual purchase of the home and the emission that it was once inhabited by a Van Tassel, it is believed that this residence served as the model for the home of his character, Katrina Van Tassel. This house is considered to be the abode where Ichabod Crane first attended a lavish party and then hurriedly departed from after being apparently rebuffed by the confusing and difficult coquet Katrina.
The beautiful home lies at the bottom of a long winding road that is riddled with extremely sharp bends and curves. These curves allow for the fast descent of an exceedingly steep hill and return the formerly high-flying traveler to the low-lying sea level of the Tappan Zee River. Similar to the Van Tassel home in Irving's legend, Sunnyside lies between the hilly country of the Hudson Valley and this river, which Irving hears as he exits the Van Tassel home. Purple wisteria now drapes over the front and sides of the house and the sloshing waters that lick at the shoreline behind Irving's home are audible to any traveler that listens closely.
After leaving Sunnyside and retracing his winding path to regain the top of the hill, Ichabod's homeward journey continued through Tarrytown. The road he traveled was described as a darkly wooded path; however, this passageway has now become the heavily traveled Route 9, a road that connects Tarrytown to Sleepy Hollow. This highway is the main route through the two towns and, as such, is often congested with both parked and moving vehicles, a fact that has caused the area to lose a great deal of its old-fashioned charm. A traveler will unfortunately miss the mysterious and chilling essence of Ichabod's journey and, sadly, mirroring his experience by traversing the path on horseback is clearly out of the question.
Nevertheless, the journey continues at Patriot's Park where a statue has been erected to memorialize the capture of the treacherous spy for the British, Major John Andre. Readers of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow will recall that Ichabod encounters the Headless Horseman for the first time when he reaches the precise point where the Major was captured. He describes the region saying:
A few rough logs, laid side by side, served for a bridge over this stream. On that side of the road where the brook entered the wood, a group of chestnuts, matted thick with wild grape-wines, threw a cavernous gloom over it. To pass this bridge was the severest trial. It was at this identical spot that the unfortunate Andre was captured.
Today, this formerly thickly wooded area has reclaimed a portion of its former glory as a park. Now a lush green retreat, the cavernous gloom described by Irving is noticeably absent, as are the inherent doom and mystery that were instrumental to the tale. Nevertheless, the area is so well manicured and pleasing to the eye, this loss can hardly be lamented. Additionally, a large monument that stands beside the entrance to the park has been erected to commemorate the capture of the Major and, opposed to the swampy environment described by Irving, the region is dry having been drained long before this traveler made her way through the area.
After passing through the park, I continued along Route 9 toward Sleepy Hollow as Ichabod had done just before Gunpowder, his horse, led him away from his desired location, Sleepy Hollow. While I was following Ichabod's erratic journey, I passed by what is now the Philipsburg Manor, a living history museum that offers insight into 18th century agrarian society. Although this structure seems relatively inconsequential to the tale at first glance, upon further examination, I discerned that this is the very mill and millpond around which Ichabod sauntered with a bevy of young dames between church services on Sundays. Consequently, these church services took place at the Old Dutch Church, which sits just above the millpond on Route 9 in Sleepy Hollow.
The white-washed walls and wooden slats of the mill have been restored to their 18th century glory and the buildings sit on the far end of a large, placid pond while a long bridge connects the shorelines. A sizeable water-powered grindstone sits halfway below the dammed water level of the pond and grapevines are thickly intertwined through the branches of trees that line the edges of the water. In Irving's story, his character, Ichabod Crane, gathered grapes for the country damsels while the bashful country bumpkins hung back, envious of the schoolmaster's superior eloquence and the attention he elicits from the young ladies. This lovely, serene millpond offers a peaceful, old-fashioned retreat just off the busy streets of downtown Sleepy Hollow. The large, calm pond and eccentric apparatuses leave any traveler with the feeling that they have time-traveled centuries to a quieter, simpler time period that was defined by milling, farming, dairying, cooking, and gardening. Consequently, all the above mentioned endeavors are enacted by interpreters and visitors to the museum can participate in a number of these activities.
Just above the millpond sits the Old Dutch Church and the Old Dutch Church Burying Ground along with Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, which is adjacent but not affiliated with the church or burying ground. After the panicking Gunpowder makes an incorrect turn that leads Ichabod away from Sleepy Hollow, it is to this site he flees, recalling Abraham "Brom Bones" Van Brunt's tale of racing the Headless Horseman to the old bridge that stood before the Old Dutch Church. According to Brom's tale, the Headless Horseman disappeared in a flash of fire after crossing the bridge. Basing his conjectures on this story, Ichabod assumes that, if he is able to reach the bridge before the horseman, he will be safe. Unfortunately, Ichabod crosses the bridge and, as he turns to watch the Headless Horseman disappear in a flash of fire, he is struck by what appears to be the Headless Horseman's head.
Traveling toward the Old Dutch Church following the path Ichabod might have taken, I crossed a sidewalk on the right side of the road that held a sign that proclaimed that the Headless Horseman Bridge had once spanned the very spot on which I was standing. It is here, standing below the towering Old Dutch Church that the reader is given the last account of Ichabod Crane as he is hit with the hurtling head of the Headless Hessian. It is also here that Ichabod's hat and a smashed pumpkin were found the day following his disappearance, a mystery that Washington Irving leaves unsolved for the reader. While I observed the sign, however, I was informed by a caretaker of the Old Dutch Church that the remains of the Headless Horseman Bridge were actually in amongst the trees that have grown over the stream that flows behind the gates of the Old Dutch Church. Venturing back into this thick, shrubby area, I found the signs of a bridge in the form of a stone wall that would have supported the passage over the stream. Given that travelers often missed the sign revealing the location of the bridge because it was hidden by the thick foliage, a more visible sign was erected along Route 9 to reveal where Ichabod would have crossed.
After viewing the bridge, I encountered the Old Dutch Church. This religious structure sits like a beacon at the top of the hill, the stone walls and white washed steeple visible from every corner of the Old Dutch Burying Ground. A wrought iron fence stands around the hallowed church while numerous century old tombstones line the sidewalks and pathways that intricately wind through the cemetery. Washington Irving described this area in his story saying:
The sequestered situation of this church seems to have made it a favorite haunt of troubled spirits. It stands on a knoll, surrounded by locust-trees and lofty elms, from among which its descent, whitewashed walls shine modestly forth, like Christian purity beaming through the shades of retirement. A gentle slope descends from it to a silver sheet of water, bordered by high trees, between which, peeps may be caught at the blue hills of the Hudson.
His description of the church remains relatively accurate despite centuries of change and progress. It continues to stand atop a knoll and is partially surrounded by trees although numerous have been removed to make way for Route 9 and the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. The slope that separates the church from the low-lying stream is a steep descent unlike Irving's description of a shallow, gentle drop, yet the water continues to be bordered by massive trees that clearly have lined the stream for decades.
Atop the hill, overlooking the dense foliage, Sleepy Hollow, and the Old Dutch Church sits the grave of Washington Irving. Signs simply reading the name Irving lead to where the revered author lies. In a letter to Gaylord Clark, the editor of Knickerbocker Magazine, Irving once wrote:
I send you herewith a plan of a rural cemetery projected by some of the worthies of Tarrytown, on the woody hills adjacent to the Sleepy Hollow Church I hope it may succeed, as it will keep that beautiful and umbrageous neighborhood sacred from the anti poetical and all-leveling axe. Besides, I trust that I shall one day lay my bones there.
Irving did just that. It is here that the author rests eternally, overlooking the town of Sleepy Hollow, a town that changes and grows largely due to his story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and its inherent hoof beats that resounded around the world.
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