Brief History of Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow
First inhabited by the Weckquaesgeek Indians.
1609 the Hudson River Valley claimed for Holland by Henry Hudson.
1620s Hudson River Valley settled by the Dutch.
1656 Wolfert Acker builds a Dutch farmhouse, known as Wolferts Roost. (It is later purchased by author Washington Irving.)
1664 England gained control of the region.
A Dutchman who had Anglicized his name to Frederick Philipse, was awarded 100,000 acres of land by royal charter, becoming New York's greatest "Lord of the Manor." His property extended from Spuyten Duyvil north to the Croton River, and from the Hudson River east to the Bronx River. In what would become Sleepy Hollow he build his Upper Mills. (His other residence was at Philipse Manor in Yonkers.)
1646 William Beekman arrived in New York with Peter Stuyvesant. He later married Catharine DeBough. It was their family that would come to own more than half of what later became North Tarrytown (Sleepy Hollow).
1697 following the destruction of the dam on the Pocantico River amid a flood, a slave of Frederick Philipse told of a dream he had that the dam would never hold until a church was built. The Old Dutch Church built by Philipse still stands on Route 9 in Sleepy Hollow. (It is the oldest extant church in New York.)
1702 the death of Frederick Philipse. He left the Upper Mills to his son Adolph.
c. 1712 the house and tavern owned by John and Eliza Van Tassel built. Washington Irving used the house and tavern as a model for the home of one of his characters in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Katrina Van Tassel.
the Revolutionary War Tarrytown was part of the "Neutral Ground," an area of Westchester County lying between the British lines to the south and the American lines to the north. Without the protection of either army, the people were subjected to fierce raids by both sides. British warships cruised up and down the Hudson, often peppered by shots from the shore, while American sloops carrying troops and supplies dodged the men-of-war. Such was the state of affairs when a momentous incident took place in the little village
prior to 1780 construction of the house of James See; his granddaughter Alice Ackerman, was the wife of the first Tarrytown lighthouse keeper.
1780 (September 23) Major John Andre was captured by three local militiamen. In his boot were the stolen plans of West Point Andre was carrying to the British for traitor Benedict Arnold. Many historians consider this capture to be a major turning point of the Revolution. (The Historical Society Museum at 1 Grove Street, Tarrytown, Open Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sat 2-4pm, has a wealth of materials related to the capture of Major Andre.)
1780 (October 2) Major Andre was hanged.
Post-Revolutionary War the Philipse land was confiscated because of the familys British sympathies during the Revolutionary War. Sleepy Hollow was then called Beekmantown after the new owners of Philipsburg, the Beekmans. Farming and milling continued for many years on the Manor land.
Tarrytown flourished as an active river port in the post-war period.
1826 Tarrytown was an idyllic pastoral area.
1835 author Washington Irving buys the 1656 home of Wolfert Acker, renames it Sunnyside, and spends two years remodeling.
1838 William Paulding builds a large Gothic Revival residence (now known as Lyndhurst) overlooking the Hudson River.
1839 ferry service begins on the Hudson River at five cents a ride.
1847 Pokahoe, the home of James Watson Webb, built. (It later became home of the pathfinder, John C. Fremont.)
1849 the Hudson River Railroad opened, slowing river traffic. Manufacturing enterprises sprang up.
1853 a monument to the captors of the British spy John Andre dedicated. It is located at the park along Route 9. William and Mary Taylor donated the land. The actual capture site was about 200 yards east of the monument near the boundary of what later became the two villages.
1859 the funeral of Washington Irving held at the Christ Episcopal Church where Irving was a church warden and vestryman.
1863 - the draft riot in New York City; rioters head to Tarrytown to burn the storage place for Westchester draft records; Reverend Abel T. Stewart of the Old Dutch Church, Captain Oscar Jones and several local citizens persuaded the rioters to give up their plans.
1864 Ambrose Kingsland bought Pokahoe, the old home of James Watson Webb.
1865 Jessie and John C. Fremont buy Pokahoe and live there until 1875. (The home is now on the National Register of Historic Places.)
1870 the village was incorporated. Jacob Odell was the first mayor. His house on Grove Street later became the headquarters of the Historical Society.
1874 Sleepy Hollow (then known as North Tarrytown) was incorporated as an entity separate from Tarrytown.
1879 the statue of John Paulding (one of Andres capture) was added to the top of the monument on Route 9.
1880-1960s railroad tycoon and financier Jay Gould buys Lyndhurst.
1883 building of the Tarrytown Lighthouse (located off Kingsland Point). Jacob Ackerman was lighthouse keeper from 1883 to 1904.
1886 William Rockefeller buys the Aspinwal estate and builds Rockwood Hall.
1888 the famous blizzard of 1888 left 21 inches of snow on the ground.
1893 a monument to area Revolutionary War Soldiers erected on Battle Hill.
1893 John D. Rockefeller Sr., president of Standard Oil, came to Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow. His grandsons via John D. Rockefeller Jr. Were David, Nelson, Winthrop, Laurance and John D. Rockefeller III.
1896 the John and Eliza Van Tassel property became the site for the first Washington Irving High School and their old house was demolished.
1897 the first run of the White Plains/Tarrytown Trolley.
1899 construction of the automobile factory (designed by Stanford White) on the Kingsland property.
turn of the century palatial mansions dotted the hills overlooking the Hudson.
1900 Carrollcliffe, the Castle at Tarrytown, built for General Howard Carroll, son of a Civil War General. It was designed by noted New York Architect Henry Killburn and place on top of a ridge overlooking the area (and easily seen from US 287). The Castle was built in a style reminiscent of Norman fortification in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Later it was known as the Axe Castle when it was owned by E.W. Axe & Co. Now it is a luxury inn and restaurant. .
1902 John D. Rockefeller Sr.s country retreat, the Parsons-Wentworthhouse in Pocantico Hills, burns down and plans were made to build the Kykuit mansion.
1906 a photo taken this year shows Ambrose Kingslands gazebo on Kidds Rock (named for Captain Kidd who supposedly traded with Frederick Philipse.)
1913 construction of Kykuit completed.
1914 Orchard Street was a growing hub of business in Tarrytown.
1916 Singer/entertainer Elsie Janis (Elsie Bierbower originally) bought the Philipse Manor Upper Mills. During the war she was known as the "Sweetheart of the AEF" (the American Expeditionary Force) because of her entertainment of the troops abroad. After WWI she and her mother restored the Manor house.
Sleepy Hollow was home to the famous "Stanley Steamer" automobile factory.
General Motors built a huge assembly plant in Sleepy Hollow. At the peak of its operations the plant employed over 4,000 workers.
1923 death of William Rockefeller. His property eventually becomes a public park.
1928 John D. Rockefeller Jr. backed the building of the five-story Van Tassel apartment building to overcome the shortage of apartments for the families of Chevrolet workers.
1929 the last run of the White Plains/Tarrytown Trolley.
WWII the Axe Castle in Tarrytown was used by Civil Defense plane spotters.
WWII the General Motors plant in North Tarrytown was converted to the manufacture of airplane parts.
following WW II clusters of single-family homes replaced large estates.
1950s building of the Tappan Zee Bridge, ending ferry service. Construction of the New York State Thruway and Tappan Zee Bridge accelerated the growth of Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow.
1960s Anna Gould, Jay Goulds daughter, left Lyndhurst to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
1960s F. W. Woolworth Company store razed.
1965 the Tarrytown Lighthouse was decommissioned. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
1996 the village of North Tarrytown officially changed its name from North Tarrytown to Sleepy Hollow.
1996 the General Motors plant closed. The village plans to limit construction on this prime river front area to residential and light commercial buildings and water-related enterprises such as marinas.
Sources:
Sleepy Hollow Chamber of Commerce. "History of the Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow Area.." http://www.sleepyhollowchamber.com/history.html)
Historical Society, Inc, Serving Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. 1997. Images of America: Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Press.