Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow
Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow | |
---|---|
Dutch Colonial | |
Groundbreaking | 1685 |
Completed | ~1697–99 |
Specifications | |
Direction of façade | West |
Materials | Stone, wood, brick |
Website | |
https://reformedchurchtarrytowns.org/ | |
Dutch Reformed Church | |
NRHP reference No. | 66000581 |
NYSRHP No. | 11960.000002 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966[1] |
Designated NHL | November 5, 1961[2] |
Designated NYSRHP | June 23, 1980 |
The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow (Dutch: Oude Nederlandse Kerk van Sleepy Hollow), listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Dutch Reformed Church (Sleepy Hollow), is a 17th-century stone church located on Albany Post Road (U.S. Route 9) in Sleepy Hollow, New York, United States. It and its three-acre (1.2 ha) churchyard feature prominently in Washington Irving's 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". The churchyard is often confused with the contiguous but separate Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
It is the second oldest extant church and the 15th oldest extant building in the
Building
The building was designed and funded by
The structure is rectangular, with a three-sided projecting rear
To the west a stone retaining wall raises the church above grade level. A few shrubs flank the stone steps that lead up to the main entrance, paneled wooden double doors recessed within a Gothic archway. Above it is a glass transom with curved, intersecting muntins. It is set within a brick surround. The north and south side elevations have double-hung sash windows, as do the two side facets of the apse. At the roofline is a molded wooden cornice.[3]
The interior has its wooden
History
Philipse's wife, Margaret Hardenbroek DeVries Philipse died in 1691, and he soon remarried. His second wife,
The early history of the church and its members was recorded by Dirck Storm, in his book Het Notite Boeck der Christelyckes Kercke op de Manner of Philips Burgh. It continued to serve as the church of Philipse Manor through the Revolution, when the family's lands were confiscated by the state for siding with the Crown. At that time the special pews for the Lord of the Manor were removed and the plain oak benches for the tenants were replaced with pine pews.
Thereafter it continued without the patronage. Washington Irving, whose Sunnyside estate was a few miles to the south, made the church famous when he gave it prominent mention in his early 19th-century Halloween short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" as both a setting and a site connected with the Headless Horseman. Irving later gave yellow bricks from the church to outline the construction date on the wall above the door at Bolton Priory in Pelham Manor, New York.[5]
In 1837 a fire damaged the church. During the repairs some significant changes were made to the building. The main entrance was moved from the south
Sixty years later the church was renovated again for its bicentennial. That work reversed the 1837 renovations by restoring the original ceiling and reproducing the original pulpit. The Tarrytowns had grown through the 19th century, and a branch church had been built in Tarrytown to minister to the expanded congregation. Eventually that church became the main church, and the original building was used only for special occasions, a practice that continued until the most recent renovation in the 1990s. Currently, worship services are held from June through September.[3]
Notable burials
- Wolfert Acker (1667–1753), former deacon of the church, Collector of Philipsburg Manor, and subject of Washington Irving's Wofert's Roost. His wife Maretje Sibouts and his brother Jan Acker, the church's first deacon, was also buried here (supposedly in the church).
- William Paulding Jr. (1770–1854), U.S. Representative from New York and mayor of New York City
- Frederick Philipse (1626–1702) – formerly held 52,000 acres (210 km2) of land along the Hudson River, Philipsburg Manor; builder of the church of Sleepy Hollow
- Dirck Storm (1630–1715) – author of Het Notite Boeck der Christelyckes Kercke op de Manner of Philips Burgh, a book about the early years of the Old Dutch Church. He also served as Town Clerk in the early years of many New Amsterdam communities, including New Lots, Flatbush and Bedford, as well as Tax Collector for Frederick Philipse.
- Catriena Ecker Van Tessel – a possible model for Katrina in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and her Revolutionary War hero husband Petrus Van Tessel
- Ossining's Dale Cemetery.
See also
- Historic Hudson Valley
- List of National Historic Landmarks in New York
- List of the oldest buildings in New York
- National Register of Historic Places listings in northern Westchester County, New York
- Oldest churches in the United States
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "Dutch Reformed (Sleepy Hollow) Church". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 18, 2007.
- ^ KiB)a
- ^ Edited Appletons Encyclopedia, Famous Americans: Biography of Frederick Philipse: "...He worked at the carpenter's trade for several years, aided in building the Old Dutch church, and is said to have made the pulpit with his own hands.
- ^ New York: A Guide to the Empire State (1940), p. 381, at Google Books
External links
- The Reformed Church of the Tarrytowns
- Friends of the Old Dutch Church & Burying Ground of Sleepy Hollow on Facebook
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. NY-6143, "Old Dutch Reformed Church, Albany Post Road (U.S. Route 9), Tarrytown, Westchester County, NY", 10 photos, 4 measured drawings, 1 photo caption page
- Philipsburg Manor House