Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow

Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow is a fieldstone church with Dutch Colonial influence in Sleepy Hollow, New York. The rectangular building carries a Flemish-style gambrel roof and an octagonal wooden belfry.

Frederick Philipse commissioned the building in 1685, making it the oldest church structure in New York State. Members of his family and other early settlers found their resting place here.

Washington Irving chose this place of worship as the setting for his tale about the headless horseman. The building appears in the story he published in 1819, which continues to draw visitors today.

Visitors can attend summer worship services and holiday events or explore the surrounding burial ground. The three-acre cemetery closes at 4:30 PM.

A bell in the wooden belfry carries an inscription reading: If God is for us, who can be against us. The words are cast into the metal and can be read on close inspection.

Location: Sleepy Hollow

Inception: January 1, 1685

Architects: Frederick Philipse

Architectural style: Dutch Colonial Revival architecture

Website: https://reformedchurchtarrytowns.org/old-dutch-church

GPS coordinates: 41.09040,-73.86190

Latest update: December 20, 2025 02:28