Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York, is the final resting place of numerous famous figures, including Washington Irving, whose 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set in the adjacent burying ground of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow. Incorporated in 1849 as Tarrytown Cemetery, the site posthumously honored Irving's request that it change its name to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

History

The cemetery is a non-profit, non-sectarian burying ground of about 90 acre. It is contiguous with, but separate from, the churchyard of the Old Dutch Church, the colonial-era church that was a setting for "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". The Rockefeller family estate (Kykuit), whose grounds abut Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, contains the private Rockefeller cemetery. In 1894 under the leadership of Marcius D. Raymond, publisher of the local Tarrytown Argus newspaper, funds were raised to build a granite monument honoring the soldiers of the American Revolutionary War buried in the cemetery.

Notable monuments

The Helmsley mausoleum, final resting place of Harry and Leona Helmsley, features a window showing the skyline of Manhattan in stained glass. It was built by Mrs. Helmsley at a cost of $1.4 million in 2007. She had her husband's body moved from its resting place in Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) to the new mausoleum.

Notable burials

Numerous notable people are interred at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, including:

In popular culture

Several outdoor scenes from the feature film House of Dark Shadows (1970) were filmed at the cemetery's receiving vault. The cemetery also served as a location for the Ramones' 1989 music video "Pet Sematary".