Sleepy Hollow Cemetery | Where Concord’s Legends Lie
The historic Sleepy Hollow Cemetery serves as the final resting place of Concord, Massachusetts’ most famous residents.
By Bethany Bourgault|Sep 27 2022|
Pens, pencils, library cards, and even a pine cone decorate this famed transcendentalist author's headstone.
Photo Credit: Bethany BourgaultTucked just 1/2 of a mile northeast of Concord’s center – a pleasant ten minute’s stroll on a nice day – lies the peaceful garden plot known as Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. What it lacks in pattern it makes up for in lore; its winding paths are the final resting place for countless historical figures. After all, a town as historically significant as Concord, Massachusetts, needs people to make the history; and those people need a place to stay once their souls have moved on…
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
I stumbled upon Sleepy Hollow during my recent trip to Concord, Massachusetts. In doing my pre-trip research, I came across the Friends of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, a non-profit organization that preserves the cemetery and its history. The Friends publish several booklets and brochures, one of which is a map. For anyone considering a trip, this map is an absolute must.
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
I started my walk at the oldest part of the cemetery. When Concord’s townspeople ran out of space in their already existing Hill Burying Ground and South Burying Place, they decided it was high time to find more land. In 1823, New Hill Burying Ground was opened, and Hill Burying ground became “Old” Hill Buying Ground.
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is unique in the way it has grown over the years. Five more sections were added to New Hill, including one called “Sleepy Hollow” in 1855. Much of the landscaping is modeled after transcendentalist views about how humans should be in commune with nature. Visitors can learn how attitudes toward death evolved over the years by observing the differences between each of the sections.
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
By far the most popular section of the cemetery is Author’s Ridge. This woody path is home to the bodies of Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson (who spoke at the cemetery’s dedication ceremony) and their families. I was surprised to see that visitors left offerings of pens, pencils, and even library cards to commemorate the famed authors.
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Other notable residents of this expansive burial ground include the first woman to be issued a driver’s license in the United States, the composer of the Christmas tune, “The Little Drummer Boy,” and the first man in America to manufacture pencils. Visitors can see the graves of Ephraim Wales Bull, the inventor of the Concord grape, Daniel Chester French, the sculptor behind the famous Minuteman statue and the Lincoln Memorial, and a woman to whom Henry Thoreau and his brother John both proposed marriage, only to be turned away by her father.
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Photo Credit : Bethany Bourgault
Sleepy Hollow is certainly a must-see for anyone visiting the Concord area. If you’re going to visit the past homes of Concord’s famous history-makers, you might as well visit their current homes too, right? Stop by any of Concord’s visitor centers and pick up a map before you go, and enjoy your stroll through this famous final resting place.
Have you ever visited Sleepy Hollow Cemetery?
This post was first published in 2015 and has been updated.
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“and a woman to whom Henry Thoreau and his brother John both proposed marriage, only to be turned away by her father”????
If you mean Ellen Sewell, she’s not buried in Sleepy Hollow. She’s buried in Cohasset, Massachusetts.
Dear Bethany,
You say Sleepy Hollow Cemetery is the final resting place of “a woman to whom Henry Thoreau and his brother John both proposed marriage, only to be turned away by her father.” To whom are you referring? Because if you mean Ellen (Sewell) Osgood, she is buried in Cohasset, Massachusetts.
Looks like Richard beat me to it!
I have gone to Sleepy Hollow many, many times and have never seen pens or pencils at the graves of my literary heroes.
How I wish you had not publicized this behavior. While lovingly intended, it creates litter, plain and simple. Louisa May Alcott would, I think, have a ball lampooning this if it had happened in her day. Have you ever read the chapter in “Jo’s Boys” in which she lampoons the behaviors of clueless fans?
Perhaps people who love these literary giants could honor them by giving pens and pencils to an underfunded school system.
YES! You took the words right out of my mouth, Nancy. At the least, if people insist on doing this, perhaps a local group might provide containers for the “gift-givers” and someone periodically empty them and deliver to needy places.
Another interesting cemetery is in Brewster Mass with the final resting place of the sea captains and whalers.
Have been indeed ! Looking for letterboxes , and visited all the mentioned authors , but will visit again to explore the entirety of such a beautiful and historical location !
The sculptor of the Melvin Memorial’s “Mourning Victory” memorial figure, Daniel Chester French grew up in Concord and is also buried in the Sleepy Hollow cemetery.
That is a fine piece of work. Are any modern memorials like this anymore? All I ever see are flat pieces of granite, maybe etched or something. real sculpture doesnt seem to be done anymore.
Another truly magnificent garden cemetery is Mt Auburn in Cambridge. Not only is it the burial place of many famous people, such as Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, but there are many unique and beautiful memorials. It truly is a garden that is beautiful at all times of the year. And the Granary Burying Ground in Downtown Boston is a must see along The Freedom Trail.
It’s been 54 years since last there – one stone read “I told you I was sick” this tickles me to this day- However I’m not sure if it was in Concord or Rock Port that I saw it.
Just visited it last week on our trip from Seattle. Interesting to see author’s ridge. It’s a neat old cemetery on different levels with curving paths and big, craggy trees.
Some of my earliest (to America) ancestors were some of the earliest settlers in Concord. I haven’t been there to visit yet, I should put that on my list of trips for this summer!
In Terrytown NY (known as Sleepy Hollow) there’s a Sleepy Hollow cemetery with Washington Irvin, the Rockefeller’s and deer roaming around. A huge place.
You note some lovely grave stones and refer to them as styles of graves. I think you meant to write that they are “markers” as opposed to “styles” of graves. Otherwise, a lovely piece.
How do I get a map of the cemetery?
Grave stone featured (style) is a Celtic Cross.
Dr. Seuss is also buried in this cemetary…a few steps away from my Mom, Dad, and my husband, who was a writer.
How do I get a copy of the map of the cementary?
Relatives will be visiting in April and we will be looking forward to walking around the cement dry. Actually while we are there I want to visit a friend of mine …MARY B. SENESE WHO JUST PASSED JAN. 6, 2021. Thank you for your help.
And in Surry, NH, there is a grave with the name Ichabod Crane.
The cemetery on Mare Island (Vallejo) California contains the graves of the daughter and grand-daughter of Francis Scott Key, the author of The Star Spangled Banner.
Is this the same place as from the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow”?
No, Greg, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, written by Washington Irving, takes place in Tarrytown, New York, now renamed Sleepy Hollow, New York. There you can visit Irving’s home, Sunnyside, and visit his grave in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in the town. Irving and his grave were commemorated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his poem, “In the Churchyard at Tarrytown”. Other famous people buried there include Andrew Carnegie; some members of the Rockefeller family (you can visit their nearby estate, Kykuit); Brooke Astor and her husband, Vincent; and Leona Helmsley and her husband, Harry.
As a member of Ancestry and Find-a-Grave, I am very interested in visiting these more of these cemeteries.
Jack Kerouac’s resting place is an interesting place to visit. Simple plot but always has interesting mementos surrounding his marker. When I visited, someone had left a guitar pick, a small bottle of bourbon and a woman (I believe) left a lipstick impression. They were not obnoxious but things Jack might appreciate.
Another interesting place to visit is that of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlin…Civil War hero, Bowdoin president. Located in a cemetery next to Bowdoin it is a marker noting his MOH honor. His wife and son lie next to him. I thought it was symbolic of the man himself. Never seeking attention but thrust into events which played into the country’s history. His house is on the other side of the Bowdoin campus and is open for visitation.
Others asked where to get the MAP. https://www.shopatwaldenpond.org/product_p/274902898572.htm
Take a look at the cemetery just west of St. Paul’s School in Concord where John Gilbert Winant is buried. He was a two-term governor of NH and Ambassador to the Court of St. James during WWII. Be sure to read Lynne Olson’s “Citizens of London” to get the full picture of this remarkable man and his contributions.
Very interesting pieces of history.