Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

View of cemetery from behind the Old Dutch Church

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery was made a famous cemetery by Washington Irving's story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Washington Irving himself is buried in it. It is located in North Tarrytown, New York, which changed its name in 1997 to Sleepy Hollow, New York.

The road on which the fictional Ichabod Crane was pursued by the Headless Horseman runs just south of the cemetery. The lower half of the cemetery is the oldest portion: it includes an Old Dutch Church and is now called the Old Dutch Burying Ground. The inspirations for the fictional yet lovely Katrina Van Tassel, and her suitors Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones now lie side by side in this ground. They are joined by others whose real-life stories are part of the town's early history. The upper portion of the cemetery is the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery proper, where the more recent burials occur. The Rockefeller estates, Pocantino, whose grounds abut the cemetery, contain the private Rockefeller Burying Grounds.

The Old Dutch Burying Ground

A grave of someone named "Lister

• Frederick Philipse (1626-1702) - early settler, founder of the Old Dutch Church in Tarrytown, and builder of Philipse Manor
• Eleanor Van Tassel Brush (1763-1861) (model for Katrina in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow)
• Joseph Youngs (1722-1789) and Susannah Youngs, (1732-1783) were the parents of Samuel Youngs (model for Ichabod Crane). Samuel Youngs was originally buried here but his remains have been removed to Ossining's Dale Cemetery
• Abraham Martling (1743-1830), inspiration for Brom Bones

• Leo Baekeland (1863-1944) - the father of plastic: Bakelite is named for him. The murder of his grandson's wife Barbara by his great-grandson, Tony, is told in the book Savage Grace
• Major Edward Bowes (1874-1946) - early radio star, he hosted an "Amateur Hour"
• Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1919) - businessman and philanthropist
• Walter Chrysler (1875-1940) - businessman, commissioned the Chrysler Building
• Samuel Gompers (1850-1924) - founder of the American Federation of Labor
• Mark Hellinger (1903-1947) - film producer. The Mark Hellinger Theater in New York City is named for him
• Washington Irving (1782-1859) - author
• William Rockefeller (1841-1922) - New York head of the Standard Oil Company
• Carl Schurz (1820-1906) - Senator, secretary of the interior under Rutheford B. Hayes. Carl Schurz Park in New York City bears his name.
• Henry Villard (1835-1900) - railroad baron

Washington Irving's grave (one with the flag in front of it)

There is a great deal more to the cemetery than what is visible here. It is very hilly, and has roads so it can be driven through.

There is a roadway (Federal Highway 9, to be precise) located down a small hill to the left of what is visible in this picture; cars may frequently be heard passing by, doubtless not a feature of the cemetery back in Irving's time. Visitors in small but respectable quantities are also common.