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Washington Irving
wrote of a little
valley, an enchanted
region, known as
Sleepy Hollow. It
was a place where
you could hear astonishing
tales ... of ghosts
and goblins, of
haunted fields and
brooks and bridges,
and, in particular,
of a terrible Headless
Horseman who raced
along dark roads
in the dead of night
and tethered his
steed in the cemetery
of the Old Dutch
Church. Sleepy Hollow
is part of the Town
of Mount Pleasant.
formerly "North
Tarrytown.," The
Old Dutch Church,
A National Historic
Landmark, is the
oldest church in
New York State.
A colonial Dutch-style
stone church, nestled
on a knoll beside
present-day Route
9 in Sleepy Hollow,
it actually dates
from 1685 and was
built for Frederick
Philipse, the Lord
of the Manor
of Philipsburg.
The "legend"
is maintained today
by The
Friends of the Old
Dutch Church Burying
Grounds who
provide tours, perform
readings, and other
events surrounding
this historic site.
Courtesy of the
Rockefeller legacy,
you can even travel
down the old carriage
paths that were
on the route of
the original Albany
Post Road (east
of the church),
and visit the Horseman's
Bridge.
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