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Click
to enlarge photo of 1883 Tarrytown Lighthouse.
The sign along the bridge that leads to the lighthouse reads:
"The Tarrytown Lighthouse Bridge
Designed and Constructed
By
The Westchester County
Department of Public Works
1975"
About Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse
The 1883 Lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow is located at Kingsland Point Park, 299 Palmer Ave, Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591. The lighthouse is the only Caisson-style lighthouse on the river.
Erected in 1882-1883, the lighthouse provided navigational aid to shipping on the Hudson and warned captains away from the dangerous shoals on the river's eastern shore. It is easily seen from the Tappan Zee Bridge, with the best viewing from Kingsland Point Park, located directly on the Hudson River.
Like all lighthouses on the Hudson, the 1883 Lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow was designed as a "family station," as the keeper and his family lived in the five-story structure year-round. The duties of the keeper were to perform the never-ending chores of maintaining the lighthouse and lamp and to operate the lamp every night as well as during inclement weather.
During its entire 78 years of service, the 1883 Lighthouse at Sleepy Hollow had a nearly perfect record of performance. When the bell mechanism malfunctioned (on several occasions), the keeper rang the bell by hand, at two-minute intervals, often for hours at a time. The constant beacon, a white light for the first eleven years, then a red light, and later a blinking red light, would guide vessels safely through darkness, fog and storms.
Historic Sites in Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown
Visit
Kykuit, the Rockefeller Estate in Sleepy Hollow.
Visit
Lyndhurst in Tarrytown.
Visit
Patriots Park in Tarrytown.
Visit the
Old Dutch Church at Sleepy Hollow.
Visit Historic Sunnyside
Washington Irving's home at Sunnyside
Children's Attractions in Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown
Enjoy Family Fun Day at
Lyndhurst Historic Site in Tarrytown.
Visit Patriots Park and learn about the history of the
American Revolution - John André.
Visit
Patriots Park in Tarrytown.
Visit Historic
Philipsburg Manor Historic Site for kids.
Visit Historic Sunnyside,
Washington Irving's home in Tarrytown, offering games and activities for kids.
Celebrate
Halloween in Sleepy Hollow.
Celebrate
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Spooky fun things to do on Halloween include a
Tour the Old Dutch Church & Burying Ground
Visit the Old Dutch Church & Burying Ground and find places mentioned in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow where "The dominant spirit, however, that haunts this enchanted region, and seems to be commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air, is the apparition of a figure on horseback, without a head. It is said by some to be the ghost of a Hessian trooper, whose head had been carried away by a cannon-ball, in some nameless battle during the Revolutionary War, and who is ever and anon seen by the country folk hurrying along in the gloom of night, as if on the wings of the wind. His haunts are not confined to the valley, but extend at times to the adjacent roads, and especially to the vicinity of a church at no great distance. Indeed, certain of the most authentic historians of those parts, who have been careful in collecting and collating the floating facts concerning this spectre, allege that the body of the trooper having been buried in the churchyard, the ghost rides forth to the scene of battle in nightly quest of his head, and that the rushing speed with which he sometimes passes along the Hollow, like a midnight blast, is owing to his being belated, and in a hurry to get back to the churchyard before daybreak."
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
by Washington Irving
Location: Sleepy Hollow
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