The Old Dutch Church is the single most important location in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," since the Headless Horseman is said to be buried in the graveyard surrounding this church:
...certain of the most authentic historians of those parts, who have been careful in collecting and collating the floating facts concerning this spectre, allege that the body of the trooper having been buried in the churchyard, the ghost rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head, and that the rushing speed with which he sometimes passes along the Hollow, like a midnight blast, is owing to his being belated, and in a hurry to get back to the churchyard before daybreak.
According to tradition, the horseman is buried in an unmarked grave here, so don't expect to find him. Besides, that's all fiction, anyhow. Or mostly fiction. Maybe.
But the church is very real, and can still be found standing in excellent condition. Built in 1697, this is the oldest church in the state of New York. It was constructed under the direction of Frederick Philipse, the owner of Philipsburgh Manor, a huge estate occupied by tenant farmers until the American Revolution. Prior to the construction of this stone and brick edifice, it was apparently preceeded by a less permanent church of some sort, and the burial ground here had already been in use for about 50 years.
Today, the church looks somewhat different than it did at the time of Washington Irving's first acquaintance with the building in the 1790's. A fire damaged the church in 1837, resulting in repairs that included some changes in structure and style. The entrance was moved from the south side of the building to the west, probably because of changes in the route of the nearby Albany Post Road leading past the church. Also, the door and windows all acquired gothic arches, according to the Gothic Revival fashion of the time. These changes are all still evident in the structure. A portico with classical columns was installed over the western door at one time, but has since disappeared.
Below, a weathered plaque on the wall to the right of the entrance identifies the building, its year of construction, and the years in which alterations were made:
The Old Dutch Burial Ground, with its multitude of weathered gravestones, is the most venerable property in Sleepy Hollow.
The roof of the church carries two weathervanes, which became the focus of an amusing observation by Irving:
...a weathercock, perched on top of the belfry...was considered orthodox in all windy matters, until a small pragmatical rival was set up, on the other end of the church, above the chancel. ...The usual contradiction ensued that always exists among church weather-cocks, which can never be brought to agree as to the point from which the wind blows, having doubtless acquired, from their position, the Christian propensity to schism and controversy.
As can be seen in the detail below, the dueling weathervanes to this day still offer quite contrary readings of the weather:
On to Gravestones of the Dutch Burial Ground...
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