How many of you are familiar with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving? It was always a story that I loved growing up and I really loved the movie that they released in 1999. I can’t believe it was that long ago! Did you know that Sleepy Hollow is a village located in New York? Washington Irving lived in a lot of different places throughout his life but one of the places that he loved to call home was Tarrytown. He spent a lot of time there when he was young. In 1835 he decided to officially call it home and purchased a cottage that was quite a bit run down along the Hudson River and named it Sunnyside. He would spend the next twenty years renovating it to his liking.
You can tour that home today if you get the chance. His home is now located in what is known as Irvington New York. You can find out more here: Sunnyside Unfortunately it was closed for the season when we were there.
Sleepy Hollow is a Village in the town of Mount Pleasant. That town is located next to Tarrytown and was originally a part of it. Sleepy Hollow was not officially named that until 1996 and I do think that perhaps this causes some confusion. I know I was blown away when I found it on a map many years ago as when I was growing up it wasn’t a place that existed. Sleepy Hollow Village is an area that includes the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, the Old Dutch Church and its three-acre churchyard, and the Phillipsburg Manor House. The Village of Sleepy Hollow is just 5.25 square miles. A good amount of that area consists of the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Can I tell you how amazing the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is? We spent so much time there and I have so many pictures and stories to tell you. I do believe I’m going to spend the next couple of days sharing with you some of the amazing things I found.
Today I wanted to give you a bit of a background on the area as I’ll be honest I didn’t know much about Sleepy Hollow when I got there and it was a bit disorienting as I thought it was a larger town like Salem. That being said, once you understand what’s going on it’s a lot easier to navigate. The Village of Sleepy Hollow encompasses a lot of what you are more familiar with in the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
In the distance, you will see an old white farmhouse. That farmhouse is known as Philipsburg Manor and is located across the street from the Old Dutch Church and Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. It is a large part of Sleepy Hollow Village and a place that is available for you to tour if you come to Sleepy Hollow in Season. The farm is part of an original 52,000 acres along the Hudson River that Frederick Philip was granted a royal charter for making him the lord of this land.
You can walk around the property in the front and on the side. This is another view of it that we took from the road. I’m not sure how many acres are left on the property. I can assure you that it’s nowhere near the original 52,000. It’s a beautiful place to walk by.
This is the view of the Headless Horseman statue that I took. If you look closely, in the back you can just make out a bit of white. That is Philipsburg Manor. The Headless Horseman Statue is an 18 Foot sculpture that was created by local artist Linda Perlmutter and put into place in October 2006. You can see the Headless Horseman chasing Ichabod Crane.
Tomorrow I’ll introduce you to the Old Dutch Church and Sleepy Hollow Bridge. I also have so much to tell you about Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and even a Bohemian Witch. Hopefully, you will enjoy some of the stories I have for you this week!
Have a magickal day!
Much Love and Many Blessings,
Jasmeine Moonsong