Authors Ridge at Sleepy Hollow
Greeting Leaf Peeper’s 120 days till the first day of Autumn and I’m still wondering what is going to happen this year. I’m going with the optimistic idea that while this autumn will either be a less crowded one due to the restrictions still in place during the fall season or New England will be bursting at the seams because everyone will come here to go touring. Either way, sooner or later you will be looking for places to visit. So today lets talk about…
Sleepy Hollow(s) in New England
You probably caught the plural there and when I say Sleepy Hollow, you say… Vermont and Cloudland Road and I say Nope, how about Massachusetts and you say WHAAT? For all of you who knew this, Give yourself a gold star. But for the rest of you, there are a bunch of Sleepy Hollows out there. A couple of them resonate around Authors…
I was going to say there are only a few places named Sleepy Hollow but when I put Lisa on it, she found that there are many places, roads, Inns, and farms touting that name. I even found a covered bridge in North Carolina and a Lighthouse on the Hudson.
Most leaf peepers will automatically say Cloudland Road and the Sleepy Hollow Farm in Pomfret but today I’m focusing on “Author related Sleepy Hollows”.
Driving Alert: The town of Pomfret will close Cloudland Road from 23 September to 15 October this year to stop the level of traffic in front of the Sleepy Hollow farm. The farm has been causing so many traffic issues, that the town finally decided to stop all motorized traffic. Also on the other end of Cloudland Road which is Barbor Rd, that is also limited traffic so no slipping in that way Also if you try to park within walking distance, that will be stopped as well.
Authors and Sleepy Hollow
There are Two Sleepy Hollows that are in or near New England. The first is Sleepy Hollow New York which was made famous by author, Washington Irving. I’m betting almost all of you know about the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Ichabod Crane.
It’s a toss-up which comes to a leaf peepers mind first, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow the story of the Pomfret Vermont farm. Since the farm has no authors related to it, that is out.
I’m only looking at places that we might visit in New England so I’m only going to mention Sleepy Hollow, New York in passing. Not because it doesn’t play a part in this article (it does) but because I’ve not made a trip there. So I have no pictures of it, myself. I did find a few images in the Library Of Congress to show you.
The legend of Sleepy Hollow is one that resonates with the child in all of us. I doubt there is one among us who has not read the story, or at the very least watched the animated tale on tv… Ok, did you at least watch the Johnny Depp movie, or the tv show that was on a few years back?
The sleepy little village of Sleepy Hollow is right on the Hudson River but I don’t think it can be called sleepy much anymore. As stated Washington Irving is buried in Their sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
This may have you confused, I did say plural Sleepy Hollows related to authors. Well, there is another Sleepy Hollow Cemetery that is not the one above. Massachusetts has another “Sleepy Hollow Cemetery” that isn’t quite as well known.
How many Sleepy Hollow Cemeteries are there?
One would think as famous as the Legend of Sleepy Hollow is, the cemetery in New York would be the first thing in Google. But When I searched for “Sleepy Hollow Cemetery” One of the first listings at the top of the page is the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord Massachusetts. This one has nothing to do with the legend but it definitely has to do with authors. That’s right, “AUTHORS”…
If you remember back to highschool and having to read the Scarlet Letter, Little Women, Walden, or the poems of Emerson then you have just found the final resting place of all these authors. These Trancendentalists (as they were termed in the 1800s) are all buried on Authors Ridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord MA.
Author’s Ridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
So if you grew up a fan of Emerson, Hawthorne, Alcott, or Thoreau, then you have a perfect excuse to visit Concord Massachusetts in mid-October. If you pick a nice day you will enjoy the walk through the cemetery to find Author’s Ridge.
The Sleepy Hollow cemetery where they have a place called Author’s Ridge. Basically Ralph Waldo Emerson, (Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.), Henry David Thoreau, (Our life is frittered away by detail… simplify, simplify.) and Louisa May Alcott, (I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.)
Below is a list of the luminaries buried on or about the author’s Ridge.
- Bronson Alcott (teacher, writer, philosopher)
- Louisa May Alcott (novelist)
- Ephraim Wales Bull (horticulturist)
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (essayist, lecturer, poet)
- Daniel Chester French (sculptor)
- Nathaniel Hawthorne (novelist)
- Sophia Peabody Hawthorne (artist)
- Samuel Hoar (lawyer, politician)
- Judge Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar (lawyer, politician)
- George Frisbie Hoar (Senator of Massachusetts)
- Harriett M. Lothrop “Margaret Sidney” (author, publisher, preservationist)
- Margaret Mulford Lothrop (educator, author, preservationist)
- Elizabeth Palmer Peabody (educator)
- Franklin Sanborn (journalist, author, reformer)
- Henry David Thoreau (author, poet, philosopher, naturalist)
While you are in Concord Massachusetts, drive down the road to the Minuteman National Historic Park and right next to it, is the “Old Manse which was built for Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Grandfather. Emerson stayed there as a young man and from 1842-1844 Nathaniel Hawthorne and his young bride Sophia stayed there. Their daughter Luna was born there and was immortalized when Hawthorne used his wife’s engagement ring to etch about the moment on the window. (as seen here)
Hawthorne resonates most with me because as a National Park Ranger in Salem, I would spend my days in the Salem Custom House talking about the people who worked there back in the 1800’s. One such person was Nathaniel Hawthorne who worked there as the surveyor of the port. I won’t tell you all that I know, instead, I’ll let you stop in Salem and explore the National Park. Maybe you’ll stop at the Custom House and get one of the Rangers to tell you about their very famous author who worked there.
So if the fall colors are lacking, here are some historical places you can visit and spend a little time with your favorite authors.
Jeff Foliage Folger
Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage
- Visit my Fine Art America Gallery
- Visit my Amazon store to pick up New England-related materials
- Visit my Pictorem Gallery (Free shipping in the US and Canada)
- My Facebook foliage page
- Threads.net/@Jeff_Foliage
- Follow our new Fall Foliage FB Group!
- You can visit Lisa’s Artist Facebook Page by clicking here
So interesting Thanks
Hello. A bit off topic, but I wanted to mention regarding Sleepy Hollow that last October we visited Sturbridge Village (we are from California), and attended a play/musical roving performance of Sleepy Hollow. It was one of the highlights of our trip. I’m in love with the East Coast. Thank you for your beautiful work.
I’m all about off topic… thanks for commenting and if you don’t get back this year, maybe next