The village of Sleepy Hollow in Westchester County, New York, only recently acquired the infamous name.  Located within the town of Mount Pleasant, it was called North Tarrytown and was officially renamed in March of 1997.  The town was renamed to honor Washington Irving, the author who made it famous with his book, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  He is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.

Upon the closing of the General Motors plant, North Tarrytown opted to rename their village in order to draw more tourists.  Most people were not aware up to that point that, when Irving referred in his story to the Old Dutch Church, the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, or the Pocantico River, it was all in North Tarrytown.  By renaming the village, it shouted this to the world and began to draw tourists, who, while visiting, can also see the Tappan Zee Bridge, as well as the 1883 Lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow.

Visitors to Sleepy Hollow can actually walk down the Croton Aqueduct Trailway, which takes them right past the Old Dutch Church and cemetery.  Gravestones there date back to the 1600’s, from some of the earliest Dutch settlers of the area.

Union Church includes stained glass art by famous painter Henri Matisse, and a tour of the Philipsburg Manor shows what Colonial life was like, with a working grist mill, manor house, and farm.  The area is quite beautiful, with river views and old streets and homes, making the legendary village of “Ichabod Crane” a great place to visit or live.