In Sleepy Hollow, along US Route 9, is this historical marker that marks the likely location of the bridge used in Washington Irving's tale, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow."
The sign is on the east side of the road and is at the northeast end of the bridge. There is a turnout just north, at an entrance to the Sleepy Hollow and Dutch Reform Church Cemeteries where you can park safely.
The sign is a standard New York sign painted blue with yellow lettering, with the following text on it:
"The Headless Horseman Bridge
Described by Irving in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow formerly spanned this stream at this spot."
Now, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is a fictional work (probably so, anyway), but, the author, Washington Irving, used this area as his settings for his stories. So, to make this 'historical' I'll discuss the historical aspects of the crossing and bridge.
According to a blog found (link below), there are many questions regarding the historical aspects of the story, including the crossing. Irving developed these tales to develop a cultural folklore for the new United States, making the Hudson River valley a haunted and mysterious place, based on legends from the Dutch settlers who were there before the British took over the territory. The blog said that Irving claimed to have heard legends from the old Dutch while he was in the Tarrytown area.
The present village of Sleepy Hollow was not around when Irving published the story in 1820. The village was originally incorporated as the village of North Tarrytown in the late 1800s, then changed its name to Sleepy Hollow in 1996 after the location in the story, and to make the claim that this crossing is the most likely place where Crane met the horseman.
The location in the story is described as about three miles from Tarrytown. The center is actually closer than that, but it is reasonably close. A church is also mentioned as being nearby, which could be the Old Dutch Church, which is within sight of the bridge and existed at the time of Irving (Irving, by the way, is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery). The location was also described as “a little valley or rather lap of land among high hills, which is one of the quietest places in the whole world…” This describes the marked place. The church and cemeteries are on varied slopes and the Pocantico River, which the stream that is crossed, runs through deep vales. However, other places could have been the location, as well. There is a bridge in Sleep Hollow Cemetery that is marked as the Headless Horseman's Bridge (not the original) at the bridge and on their map. The blog also mentions the village of Kinderhook.
So, we will probably never know for sure, but it is at least a very likely location used for that tale.
Today, the bridge is a modern concrete bridge, actually very wide for the road that it carries. It is part of a complex road intersection - so be careful when walking around. The bridge of the story was likely made of wood.
There is another plaque embedded in the bridge on the other end. The words on it are:
"Sleepy Hollow Bridge
Erected to the Memory of Washington Irving 1783 - 1859"
Source:
Wikipedia
(Sleepy Hollow, NY):
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visit link)
(The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - includes a link to an audio recording of the story being read):
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visit link)