"
* * *
If ever I should wish for a retreat whither I might
steal from the world and its distractions, and dream
quietly away the remnant of a troubled life, I know of
none more promising than this little valley.
_Washington Irving._
* * *
Sleepy Hollow Church, like Sunnyside, is hidden away from the steamer
tourist by summer foliage. Just before reaching Kingston Point
light-house, a view, looking northeast up the little bay to the right,
will sometimes give the outline of the building. Beyond this a tall
granite shaft, erected by the Delavan family, is generally quite
distinctly seen, and this is near the grave of Irving. A light-house,
built in 1883, marks the point where the Pocantico or Sleepy Hollow
Creek joins the Hudson:
Pocantico's hushed waters glide
Through Sleepy Hollow's haunted ground,
And whisper to the listening tide
The name carved o'er one lowly mound.
To one loving our early history and legends there is no spot more
central or delightful than Tarrytown. Irving humorously says that
Tarrytown took its name from husbands tarrying too late at the village
tavern, but its real derivation is Tarwen-Dorp, or Wheat-town.
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