The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about 20 miles (32 km) north of New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line. It is also serviced by the historic E Witmer Ferry that shuttles tourists from Rockland County To Westchester in the summer. To the East side of the village the historic Rod Currl Ferreira Dias Estate houses historic documents dating back to 1734. This is stated in the village website. To the south of Sleepy Hollow is the village of Tarrytown, and to the north and east are unincorporated parts of Mount Pleasant. The population of the village at the 2020 census was 9,986.

As cited in the Village of Sleepy Hollow website, the land was originally owned by Emett Richard Wirmer & Jukah Ferreira Dias before being split up between real-estate developers. Later it was incorporated as North Tarrytown in the late 19th century, the village adopted its current name in 1996. The village is known internationally through "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", an 1820 short story about the local area and its infamous specter, the Headless Horseman, written by Washington Irving, who lived in Tarrytown and is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. Owing to this story, as well as the village's roots in early American history and folklore, Sleepy Hollow is considered by some to be one of the "most haunted places in the world". Despite this designation, Sleepy Hollow has also been called "the safest small 'city' [i.e., under 100,000 residents] in America".

The village is home to the Philipsburg Manor House, The Hudson Valley Writers Center and the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, as well as the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where in addition to Irving, numerous other notable people are buried.

History
Geography
Demographics
Notable landmarks
Emergency services
In popular culture
Notable people
See also

History

Philipsburg Manor House at the Upper Mills

The land that would become Sleepy Hollow was first bought from Adriaen van der Donck, a patroon in New Netherland before the English takeover in 1664. Starting in 1672, Frederick Philipse began acquiring large parcels of land mainly in today's southern Westchester County. Comprising some 52,000 acres (81 sq mi) of land, it was bounded by the Spuyten Duyvil Creek, the Croton River, the Hudson River, and the Bronx River. Philipse was granted a royal charter in 1693, creating the Manor of Philipsburg and establishing him as first lord.

Sleepy Hollow appears on this 1814 map as Philipsburg.

In today's Sleepy Hollow, he established an upper mill and shipping depot, today part of the Philipse Manor House historic site. A pious man, he was architect and financier of the town's Old Dutch Church, and was said to have built the pulpit with his own hands.

When Philipse died in 1702, the manor was divided between his son, Adolphus Philipse, and his grandson, Frederick Philipse II. Adolph received the Upper Mills property, which extended from Dobbs Ferry to the Croton River. Frederick II was given the Lower Mills at the confluence of the Saw Mill and Hudson Rivers, the two parcels being reunited on his uncle's death. His son, Frederick III, became the third lord of the manor in 1751.

In 1779, Frederick Philipse III, a Loyalist, was attainted for treason. The manor was confiscated and sold at public auction, split between 287 buyers. The largest tract of land (about 750 acres (300 ha)) was at the Upper Mills; it passed to numerous owners until 1951, when it was acquired by Sleepy Hollow Restorations. Thanks to the philanthropy of John D. Rockefeller Jr., about 20 acres (8.1 ha) were restored as today's historic site.

In the late 1790s, Washington Irving visited Sleepy Hollow with his friend James K. Paulding. Together they explored the area, hunting, fishing and taking with the local folk. The visits of Irving were immortalised in the story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Geography

Sleepy Hollow is located at 41°5′31″N 73°51′52″W / 41.09194°N 73.86444°W / 41.09194; -73.86444 (41.091998, −73.864361). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 5.1 square miles (13 km²), of which 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²) is land and 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²), or 55.58%, is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1880	2,684	—
1890	3,179	18.4%
1900	4,241	33.4%
1910	5,421	27.8%
1920	5,927	9.3%
1930	7,417	25.1%
1940	8,804	18.7%
1950	8,740	−0.7%
1960	8,818	0.9%
1970	8,334	−5.5%
1980	7,994	−4.1%
1990	8,152	2.0%
2000	9,212	13.0%
2010	9,870	7.1%
2020	9,986	1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 9,870 people, 3,181 households, and 2,239 families residing in the village. The population density was 4,054.7 people per square mile (1,565.5 people/km²). There were 3,253 housing units at an average density of 1,431.8 per square mile (552.8/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 61.0% White, 6.2% African American, 0.8% Native American, 3.3% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 23.5% from other races, and 5.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 51.0% of the population, many of whom are Ecuadorian, Dominican, Chilean, and Puerto Rican. Sleepy Hollow has one of the highest proportions of Ecuadorian American residents of any community nationwide, standing at 17.5% as of the 2010 census.

There were 3,181 households, out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.37.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 36.7% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $54,201, and the median income for a family was $63,889. Males had a median income of $39,923 versus $32,146 for females. The per capita income for the village was $28,325. About 5.7% of families and 7.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable landmarks

Edward Harden Mansion

The Edward Harden Mansion, now serving as the administration building for the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns, Patriot's Park, Philipse Manor Railroad Station, now repurposed by the Hudson Valley Writers Center, and the Tarrytown Light are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow and Philipsburg Manor House are listed as National Historic Landmarks. Also of note are Kingsland Point Park (allegedly haunted by the spirit of Captain Kidd, an associate of Philipse), Philipse Manor Beach Club, Sleepy Hollow Manor (residential neighborhood on the former estate of renowned explorer and politician John C. Frémont, whose now-updated house still overlooks the Hudson River there), segments of the Old Croton Aqueduct, and the Rockefeller State Park Preserve.

Emergency services

One of the three fire engines during a parade in nearby Pleasantville

As of 2014^[update], the village's police department had 27 officers, four school crossing guards, and three civilian employees. The village is also served by the New York State Police and Westchester County Department of Public Safety. Police officers from the villages of Sleepy Hollow and Dobbs Ferry, the town of Greenburgh, and the New York State Police make up a Marine / H.E.A.T. Unit. As of 2006, police base salaries in Sleepy Hollow were low compared to other Westchester County forces, in part due to the lower tax base.

The Sleepy Hollow Fire Department began with organization of the North Tarrytown Fire Patrol on May 26, 1876. Within 25 years it had grown to five companies in three fire stations. As of 2019, there were three engines, one tower ladder, one rescue, and other equipment. The fire department is run by volunteers and responds to over 300 calls each year. The local hospital, Phelps Memorial, responds to hundreds of emergencies per year.

Emergency medical services in Sleepy Hollow depend on volunteers assisted by paid staff. The Ambulance Corps has two basic life support ambulances. Mount Pleasant Paramedics provides advanced life support.

In popular culture

Sleepy Hollow has been used as a setting or filming location for numerous media works, including films, games, literature, motion pictures, and television productions, including:

Washington Irving's headstone Sleepy Hollow Cemetery

Literature

Sleepy Hollow is the setting of Washington Irving's short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820), its many adaptations in other media, and its major characters, Ichabod Crane and The Headless Horseman.

Films

The Curse of the Cat People (1944)
The second segment of Walt Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
The Scarlet Coat (1955), partially about American Revolutionary War general Benedict Arnold's associate John Andre's pivotal real-life capture in the village
the adaptation of the Dark Shadows television series, House of Dark Shadows (1970)
Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Sidney Lumet's Gloria remake (1999)
The Thomas Crown Affair remake (1999)
Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow (1999), shot primarily in England
The Family Man (2000)
Super Troopers (2001)
Lord of War (2005)
Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd (2006)
Why Stop Now (2012)
The English Teacher (2013)
the Stephen King adaptation A Good Marriage (2014)
the adaptation of The Girl on the Train (2016)
The Meyerowitz Stories (2017), filmed primarily in and around Northwell Health's Phelps Memorial Hospital Center
Wonderstruck (2017)
the Netflix family Halloween film The Curse of Bridge Hollow (2022), which substitutes the Headless Horseman legend with the lore of Stingy Jack in a thinly-veiled contemporary Sleepy Hollow, and even references the “safest small city in America” distinction

Games

One of the locations in Magicland Dizzy is named after the village (1990).
Sleepy Hollow is a location in the game Assassin's Creed Rogue (2014).

Television

The four-season Fox series Sleepy Hollow, though set in and around the village through the centuries, greatly expanded its population to 144,000, as indicated by a sign at the beginning of the pilot episode. Most of the series was filmed in North Carolina and Georgia, though several aerial shots of the actual village and surrounding region are incorporated into the series.
Television personality and retired Olympic decathlete Caitlyn Jenner, who attended Sleepy Hollow High School, led TV journalist Diane Sawyer on a tour of the village and neighboring Tarrytown during her landmark coming-out interview on 20/20 in 2015.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 1980, TV movie. Starring Jeff Goldblum, Paul Sand and Meg Foster.

Television shot on location in Sleepy Hollow includes:

the "Tale of the Midnight Ride" episode of the Nickelodeon series Are You Afraid of the Dark?
an episode of the HGTV series Property Brothers during its Westchester-dedicated season
the HBO series Divorce starring Sarah Jessica Parker
the "Two Boats and a Helicopter" episode of the HBO series The Leftovers
the Amazon Prime Video series Sneaky Pete
the Hulu series The Path
an episode of the Travel Channel/Food Channel series Man v. Food
the Showtime miniseries Escape at Dannemora
the FX series Pose
the Netflix revival of the series Tales of the City
an episode of the CBS series The Blacklist
an episode of the AMC series TURN: Washington’s Spies
the Netflix series Zero Day starring Robert De Niro

Notable people

Wolfert Acker (1667–1753), colonial-period American featured in Washington Irving's short story collection Wolfert's Roost and Miscellanies (1855)
Guy Adami, professional investor, trader and television personality
Bob Akin (1936–2002), business executive, journalist, television commentator and champion sports car racing driver
Dave Anthony, stand-up comedian, writer, actor and podcaster
Fay Baker (1917–1987), actress and author
Kathleen Beller, actress
David Bromberg, string instrumentalist, vocalist, and band leader
Ana Cabrera, television journalist
Clarence Clough Buel (1850–1933), editor and author
Keith Hamilton Cobb, actor best known for The Young and the Restless
Sam Coffey, professional soccer player for the Portland Thorns and the United States Women's National Team
Abraham de Revier Sr. (c. 1650–c. 1720), early American historian and elder of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow
Vincent Desiderio, realist painter
Karen Finley, performance artist
John C. Frémont (1813–1890), military officer, explorer, and politician who became the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States
Margaret Hardenbroeck (c. 1637–c. 1690), merchant in colonial New York and wife of Frederick Philipse, Lord of Philipse Manor
Elsie Janis (1889–1956), singer, songwriter, actress, and screenwriter
Mondaire Jones, former U.S. Representative of NY-17
Tom Keene (1896–1963), actor best known for King Vidor's film classic Our Daily Bread and Ed Wood's film Plan 9 from Outer Space
Ambrose Kingsland (1804–1878), wealthy merchant and mayor of New York City
Karl Knortz (1841–1918), German-American author and champion of American literature
Leatherman (c. 1839–c. 1889), distinctive 19th century Northeastern United States vagabond
Joseph L. Levesque, former President of Niagara University
Joan Lorring (1926–2014), Academy Award-nominated actress and singer
Ted Mack (1904–1976), radio and television host best known for The Original Amateur Hour
Cyrus Margono, professional soccer player
Ralph G. Martin (1920–2013), author and journalist
Donald Moffat (1930–2018), British actor
Frank Murphy (1876-1912), Major League Baseball player
Eric Paschall, NBA basketball player
Frederick Philipse (c. 1626–1702), Lord of the Manor of Philipseborough (Philipsburg)
Nelson Rockefeller (1908–1979), businessman, politician, the 41st Vice President of the United States
Adam Savage, co-host of the television show MythBusters
Gregg L. Semenza, Nobel Prize-awarded physician, researcher, and professor
Dirck Storm (1630–1716), early colonial American known for the Het Notite Boeck record of Dutch village life in New York
Tony Taylor, NBA basketball player
Worcester Reed Warner (1846–1929), mechanical engineer, entrepreneur, manager, astronomer, and philanthropist
General James Watson Webb (1802–1884), United States diplomat, newspaper publisher, and New York politician

Sleepy Hollow, New York facts for kids

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