We’ve had a great time here in the small village of Croton-on-Hudson: it’s centrally located for visiting Hyde Park, New York City and West Point. However the small towns around this area have a charm and a history all their own. It was here that Ichbod Crane raced against the with the Headless Horseman. It was here that Sing Sing Prison was built and what convicts meant when they said they were going ‘up the river.’ And it was here where many famous people were buried: Andrew Carnegie, Walter Chrysler, William Rockefeller, several of the Astors and - Leona Helmsley, the Queen of Mean.
OK - Let’s go exploring.
We started at the end - at a cemetery in Sleepy Hollow. But first, is there a real town called Sleepy Hollow? Absolutely. In fact the town of North Tarrytown changed its name to honor one of their most famous citizens - Washington Irving who wrote ‘Rip Van Winkle’ and ’The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.’ You’d think that the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery would be - well, small and folksy. Nope, lots of famous and infamous people buried here. And, you can either take a tour with an official cemetery guide or buy a pamphlet with a map and description of all of these graves. Ironically, this pamphlet which promises a quiet, serene burial spot also is a tour guide for the cemetery. (Did they tell Leona Helmsley that they were going to make her grave a stop on the tour and call her the ‘Queen of Mean’ when she asked to be buried here?)
We first found the grave of Andrew Carnegie who made a fortune in the steel industry and then gave it away to others in the form of libraries, schools, and universities across America. I loved our weekly trip to the Carnegie Library in Fort Dodge, IA where I grew up. I spent many hours cuddled up in the big padded bench reading my latest books. And, here’s his grave, very plain and very simple but beautifully done in Celtic cross - not what you’d expect from a multi-millionaire, who would be a billionaire in today’s currency (a million isn’t worth what it used to be). His wife is buried next to him and around the edge are several of his servants ‘lifelong loyal and devoted member of the Carnegie household.’
Up the hill is the mausoleum of William Rockefeller. Now here’s what you expect from a multi-millionaire. High on a hill is the grave of one of the founders with his brother of Standard Oil which then became Exxon.
Across the street is the circular mausoleum of John Archbold who worked with Rockefeller in Standard Oil.
One of the most beautiful sculptures in the cemetery is a mourning woman who watches over the mausoleum of General Samuel Thomas who fought on the side of the Union during the Civil War.
A sad story is represented in this large granite boulder with the family name of FORD on the front and individual plaques on the back. Money problems and jealousy ended the lives of the Ford brothers in a murder-suicide. Malcolm was a gifted athlete but, as his athletic powers declined and he lost money in some unsuccessful business ventures, he began to resent his successful brother, Paul. He then shot Paul and turned the gun on himself to end it all.
The next mausoleum is that of William Boyce Thompson who made a fortune buying and then selling undervalued mining claims. The name sounded familiar to both Gary and me and, sure enough, he was the founder of the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Arizona, which we visited several years ago. He was very interested in plant research and also endowed the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research in Cornell University.
Way back in a corner of the cemetery is the grave of Florence Nightingale Graham born into a family of tenant farmers in Ontario. She was more famously known as Elizabeth (Arden) Graham, the founder of a multi-million dollar cosmetics empire. Note that there is no birth date on her stone - she didn’t want anyone to know how old she was.
Here is Walter Chrysler’s mausoleum. He entered the automobile business long after Ford and General Motors had become household names but built up his business to compete with both of the. He also is known for the Chrysler building in New York City.
Close by is the mausoleum of Harry and Leona Helmsley. Harry built a huge real estate empire in New York City which included hotels, apartment complexes, industrial buildings and the Flatiron Building and the Empire State Building. Leona demanded that they live a sumptuous life style and build only the best. That’s what got them into trouble and they were charged with tax evasion and false accounting. Harry was too frail for any jail time but Leona served 18 months. During the trial, one of her former housekeepers testified that she had heard Helmsley say ‘We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.’ Whether she actually said this or not, she is identified with this.
When she died she left $12,000,000 to her dog, Trouble, but a judge ruled this excessive and lowered it to $2,000,000. She also donated millions to hospitals and universities.
There were stained-glass windows one 3 sides of the mausoleum, each with a silhouette of New York City.
And, finally we found Washington Irving’s grave, the guy who gave the name to the town. Originally, the cemetery was around the small Old Dutch Church but as the town grew, it outgrew the small cemetery. Irving was instrumental in founding the new cemetery and the town named it the Tarrytown Cemetery. Oh, not what he wanted and after his death they renamed it the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
But one of the neatest things is the Ichabod Crane Sculpture outside the cemetery on the main street. It shows Ichabod riding for his life on his horse Gunpowder, closely followed by the Headless Horseman with the jack-o-lantern head ready to toss at Ichabod. Across the street is the bridge where he turned to look to see if the Headless Horseman has vanished in a ‘flash of brimstone.’
"Another convulsive kick in the ribs, and old Gunpowder sprang upon the bridge; he thundered over the resounding planks; he gained the opposite side; and now Ichabod cast a look behind to see if his pursuer should vanish, according to rule, in a flash of fire and brimstone. Just then he saw the goblin rising in his stirrups, and in the very act of hurling his head at him." - Washington Irving
Look at this neat sculpture of rusted metal with multi-layers. Pretty cool and a neat town icon.
And then there's Sing Sing
Here’s a photo I got from
airphota.com showing Sing Sing, the prison in the town just south of Croton-on-Hudson. Please note the railroad tracks running right through the middle of the prison from the lower right to the upper left - those are the tracks that took us into and out of New York City the 5 times that we went into the city. We could see Sing Sing from the train windows - they must own the concession in razor wire.
Or you can see it from the train depot at Ossining, the town directly south of Croton-on-Hudson.
614 inmates were executed here on ‘Old Sparky.’ The most famous of these were Ethel and Julius Rosenberg in June of 1953 for espionage for the Soviet Union on nuclear weapon research.
And, that’s our story and we’re sticking to it.
‘Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I”m not so sure about the universe’
Einstein
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