Tag Archives: Van Cortland

Philipsburg Manor Millhouse, Sleepy Hollow, New York

Click here to purchase fine art prints of this image, as well as others from Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow

“The schoolmaster is generally a man of some importance in the female circle of a rural neighborhood; being considered a kind of idle, gentlemanlike personage, of vastly superior taste and accomplishments to the rough country swains, and, indeed, inferior in learning only to the parson. Our man of letters, therefore, was peculiarly happy in the smiles of all the country damsels. How he would figure among them in the churchyard, between services on Sundays; gathering grapes for them from the wild vines that overran the surrounding trees; reciting for their amusement all the epitaphs on the tombstones; or sauntering, with a whole bevy of them, along the banks of the adjacent millpond; while the more bashful country bumpkins hung sheepishly back, envying his superior elegance and address.

From the Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving

Crossing the wooden bridge onto the grounds of Philipsburg Manor is like walking into a living history story book. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is of course, fiction. But Washington Irving included enough fact and local folklore from Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, New York, to make it very easy to blur the lines.

The mill pond which Ichabod walked his dates around is still there, and the mill is still operational. Look in just the right direction and you see the Old Dutch Church, where his confrontation ended with the headless horseman, right there through the trees. If you’re looking for what life would have been like on Baltus Van Tassell’s farm, you’re in the right place.

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Philipsburg Manor is a living history historic attraction operated by Historic Hudson Valley (which also operates Washington Irving’s Sunnyside, Van Cortland Manor and Kykuit), and they get the details right. Even the livestock is painstakingly chosen to be authentic to the period and the region. I’ve been to many restorations where everything is labelled and covered in signage, which okay, is great for learning about what you’re seeing. But it makes it damned hard to feel like you’re back in time. Given the choice between the two, I’ll do my homework first and choose the latter.

Despite the connection to Washington Irving’s whimsical story, there’s more to the history of Philipsburg Manor. Much more. Philipsburg Manor was nearly a century old by the time we get into the era in which The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was set, being founded in 1693.

Fredrick Philipse I, Lord of Philipse Manor was from the region of Netherlands called Friesland. He first settled in Flatbush on Long Island selling nails, worked his way up to tavern owner, then took the route to wealth many intelligent men through the ages have followed. He married a woman with money. Together they capitalized on a land grant from the crown, and bought a sizable estate in Westchester county and lured many of his friends there with a promise of work and low taxes.

His plantation in Sleepy Hollow, situated on the banks of the Hudson River at the point where the Pocantico River empties into it, became the center of his world-wide shipping operation. Sadly, his empire was built with slave labor. Philipse was one of the largest slave-holders in the northern colonies, purchasing at least 23 human lives. His holdings eventually stretched from the Croton River, down to what is now Riverdale, in the Bronx.

Slave cuffs at Philipsburg Manor, a historic attraction in the historic Hudson Valley's Sleepy Hollow

Click here to purchase fine art prints of this image, as well as others from Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow

Today, Philipsburg Manor is both educational, and a perfect opportunity to step back in time. Restored to 1750, the manor contains many 17th and 18th century furnishings, its own dairy, offices, bedrooms, parlor and warehouse rooms. There are usually several demonstrations going on, along with many hands-on activities. Talking with an informed interpreter, like you find at Philipsburg Manor to me is a much better way of learning about a place than signs placed on or near every object.

Philipsburg Manor is undoubtedly one of my favorites of the living history restorations I’ve visited as a travel photographer. If you’re looking for an educational opportunity, you’ll find it. If you’re looking for a great book and gift shop for souvenirs and books about the area’s history, it’s one of the best. But what I like most of all, is just strolling the grounds and letting the imagination take over. It’s an enchanted place where cultures, history and folk-lore converged, and has been inspiring the imagination ever since.

“His greatest treasure of historic lore, however, was discovered in an old goblin-looking mill, situated among rocks and water-falls, with clanking wheels, and rushing streams, and all kinds of uncouth noises. A horse-shoe, nailed to the door to keep off witches and evil spirits, showed that this mill was subject to awful visitations. As we approached it, an old negro thrust his head, all dabbled with flour, out of a hole above the water-wheel, and grinned, and rolled his eyes, and looked like the very hobgoblin of the place. The illustrious Diedrich fixed upon him, at once, as the very one to give him that invaluable kind of information, never to be acquired from books. He beckoned him from his nest, sat with him by the hour on a broken mill-stone, by the side of the waterfall, heedless of the noise of the water, and the clatter of the mill; and I verily believe it was to his conference with his African sage, and the precious revelations of the good dame of the spinning wheel, that we are indebted for the surprising though true history ofIchabod Crane and the headless horseman, which has since astounded and edified the world.”

From Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving

Philipsburg Manor is located in Sleepy Hollow, New York, on Route 9A. For more information about Philipsburg Manor, see their website here. To learn more about Washington Irving and his associated with Sleepy Hollow, go here.

Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York

To view more photos or order prints from Philipsburg Manor, Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, click here

About a year or so ago I get a message on my voice mail by a guy calling himself “The Sleepy Hollow Storyteller,” who says in essence he’s doing a book on how the Headless Horseman lost his head, and would I let him use some of my photos in his book? “The Sleepy Hollow Storyteller” I muttered to myself. “Sure he is, and I’m the Easter Bunny.”

I looked the fellow, Jonathan Kruk up online, and sure enough, he is the Sleepy Hollow Storyteller. And every so often for the next few months, we’d wander around the Hudson Valley, looking for sites associated with legends, him recounting the tale, me scrambling up cliffs, down into the Bronx River and other locations, trying to get the shots.

The first time I got a hint of his storytelling prowess was when I brought my little boy, Teelin along with us. Like most eight year olds, he’s hard to shut up. But he sat spellbound, listening to Jonathan. And ever since, I’ve been doomed to try to repeat Jonathan’s feats, never measuring up.

Then last October, Jonathan got me into Legends Weekend at Philipsburg Manor to take photos. It was a bit of a moist night as I wandered in before the crowd, and by the time people started trickling in, it was pouring. I figured that was it, but when they say “rain or shine” in Sleepy Hollow, they mean it. Surprisingly, people did show up, and Jonathan gathered them around and launched into the tale of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Within a few minutes there were a hundred people or so, standing in the pouring rain, watching him perform the tale with unbridled energy. And they stood there till the end.

After they left, he took a drink of water, gathered another crowd and began the routine again. I lost count of how many times he performed the tale that evening, which eventually ended in a deluge so fierce they did have to shut it down. But I learned two things that night.

First, is the power of storytelling hasn’t been diminished over time. And second, Jonathan truly is The Sleepy Hollow Storyteller.

How do you put a price on a story well-told? How do you compensate a person for the smiles he puts on children’s faces, on the faces of adults, for stimulating the imagination in a way which is all but lost today? It takes strength to continue to live this tradition, day in and day out. It’s a sacrifice, and everyone who gets the chance to be in the audience is all the better for it.

Those interested in Jonathan’s work could do no better than to visit his website, www.jonathankruk.net , where you can see his schedule and buy the cds (plenty of fun and a much better babysitter than the tv). He also performs as part of the Hudson River Ramblers, who can be found here.

Guest Bedroom, Sunnyside, Irvington, Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York

To view more photos or order prints from Washington Irving’s Sunnyside and the historic Hudson Valley, click here

It’s long been a dream of mine to photograph the inside of Washington Irving’s home on the banks of the Hudson River, Sunnyside. I had the opportunity last week, and have to give many thanks to Historic Hudson Valley for giving me the chance, and to Anthony Pellegrino for showing me around.

Now Sunnyside has a reputation of being haunted, particularly by the spirit of Irving himself, who has been known to pinch female visitors on the bottom. I also knew that at various times his nieces, who lived there with him have been spotted. And Anthony and I discussed this as we did our initial walk-through in the house.

I was taking this shot in the guest bedroom, and Anthony had gone off to another room to check on something, and as I was peering through the viewfinder I heard the shuffling of feet and a soft giggle. I thought this must have been Anthony, though I almost instantly heard him moving around downstairs, and was sure that the laughter was more feminine.

But the imagination plays tricks on us, and I chalked it down to that. Or to be more precise, many things happen which cannot be explained, and happen so quickly that we’re never sure if they really happened, or if we saw or heard what we thought we did.

A few weeks back I was shooting in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, just down the road a few miles from Sunnyside, once again peering through the lens. In the instant I lowered the camera, I was sure I saw someone in what appeared to be brightly colored clothing of an earlier time rushing towards me. The effect was so realistic that I literally jumped back, only to find nothing there.

Was something truly there? Who can say, certainly not me. Did I hear something in that bedroom at Sunnyside? Can’t say. I never even saw fit to tell Anthony, because what proof was there?

Later that afternoon, I met storyteller Jonathan Kruk at a diner, and we were discussing the various ghost stories associated with Sunnyside. I mentioned Irving and his pinching, and he mentioned the sightings of his nieces, as well as those who have heard them laughing throughout the house.

Well at least it was a friendly sounding laugh, as befits the tales of happiness associated with Sunnyside.