• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

Visit Sleepy Hollow

Where the Legend Lives

  • See
    • Christ Episcopal Church
    • Historical Society
    • Kykuit
    • Lyndhurst
    • Octagon House
    • Old Croton Aqueduct trail
    • Old Dutch Church
    • Philipsburg Manor
    • Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
    • Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse
    • Union Church of Pocantico Hills
  • Plan
    • Events
    • Halloween in Sleepy Hollow
    • Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze
    • Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Tours
    • Bring The Legend Home
    • Directions
  • Shop
    • Farmers Markets
    • Sleepy Hollow Souvenirs
  • Dine
    • Lunch
    • Drinks
    • Sweets
  • Stay
    • Hotels
    • Motels and Budget
    • Inns and Bed & Breakfasts
    • Camping
  • Legends & Lore
    • Florence Inn
    • Movies Made Here
    • How Charles Dickens Stole Christmas
    • Carl’s Mill
    • Spook Rock
    • About
  • See
    • Christ Episcopal Church
    • Historical Society
    • Kykuit
    • Lyndhurst
    • Octagon House
    • Old Croton Aqueduct trail
    • Old Dutch Church
    • Philipsburg Manor
    • Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
    • Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse
    • Union Church of Pocantico Hills
  • Plan
    • Events
    • Halloween in Sleepy Hollow
    • Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze
    • Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Tours
    • Bring The Legend Home
    • Directions
  • Shop
    • Farmers Markets
    • Sleepy Hollow Souvenirs
  • Dine
    • Lunch
    • Drinks
    • Sweets
  • Stay
    • Hotels
    • Motels and Budget
    • Inns and Bed & Breakfasts
    • Camping
  • Legends & Lore
    • Florence Inn
    • Movies Made Here
    • How Charles Dickens Stole Christmas
    • Carl’s Mill
    • Spook Rock
    • About

Florence Inn

Hotel-Florence-768x489

From 1819 to 1964 the northwest corner of the intersection of Route 9 and Franklin Street was occupied by a rambling old house that for much of its existence was a popular inn. Known first as the Franklin House and later as the Vincent House, Florence Inn and Hotel Florence, it served locals and travelers along the Albany Post Road.

In their History of the Tarrytowns, local historians Jeff Canning and Wally Buxton record a parade of notable visitors to the Florence: President Martin Van Buren often stopped while in transit from his home in upstate Kinderhook, NY to Washington, DC; Woodrow Wilson lodged there while giving a series of lectures at the Young Men’s Lyceum between November 1895 and January 1896; President and Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes spent several evenings here in October 1882 while visiting local resident William Dodge; Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders, passing through Tarrytown in June 1899, stopped for a midday meal; Presidents William Howard Taft and Franklin Roosevelt dined at the Florence, as did actresses Billy Burke and Alice Brady (Brady is now permanently a local resident, in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery); and author Mark Twain, who briefly owned an estate nearby.

But it was our local author, Washington Irving, who attached himself quite literally to this spot. According to Martha Morgan, who lived next door to the inn, Irving loved to sit on the elm-shaded veranda with a mug of summer ale or in the winter, warm himself with a jigger of rum beside the hearth. Morgan noted that Irving was quite a “Tarrier” – often making his driver wait for hours to take him home.

Sadly, the historic Florence Inn was demolished in 1964. But all is not lost, there are still plenty of local taverns where you can raise a glass to Washington Irving.

Vincent-House-768x480

Primary Sidebar

Calendar

<< Mar 2021 >>
MTWTFSS
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29 30 31 1 2 3 4

Events

  • No events

Recent Posts

  • Vincent House
  • “The Headless Horseman Of Sleepy Hollow” Radio Play
  • Tarrytown Music Hall Virtual Ghost Tour
  • Tarrytown Music Hall Harvest Hunt
  • Warner Library Fall Book Sale

Categories

  • 2020 Cancelled or Postponed Events
  • Legends and Lore
  • Online

Copyright © 2021 Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Historic Fund, Inc. · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Mai Theme