Sparta Cemetery is the oldest organized burial ground in the town of Ossining, a two-acre churchyard beside busy Route 9, about 3 miles (a 6-minute drive) north of Sleepy Hollow. It began as the burial ground of a Presbyterian congregation, the forerunner of today’s First Presbyterian Church of Ossining, which built its first church next door in 1768. The church is gone, but the graves remain. The oldest legible stone dates to 1764, and the most recent burial was in 2007.
Early Ossining settlers of English, Dutch and French Huguenot descent rest here, along with veterans from the Revolutionary War through World War II. Research by the Ossining Historical Society has identified 34 Revolutionary War veterans.
Two stories draw most visitors.
The Old Leatherman. For more than thirty years in the 19th century, a mysterious wanderer in a handmade leather suit walked a 365-mile loop through Westchester and Connecticut. Maps of his route show him passing through parts of what is now Rockefeller State Park Preserve. In March 1889 he was found dead in a cave in Mount Pleasant and was buried here. A 1953 plaque named him as Jules Bourglay, a claim later discredited. When a 2011 dig looked for his remains, it found only the nails of his coffin. The nails and soil were moved near the flagpole, and his identity remains a mystery.
The cannon-struck headstone. The Ladew family plot is the only one enclosed by a brick wall. Legend says the headstone of seven-year-old Abraham Ladew was pierced in 1780 by cannon fire from the British warship Vulture, patrolling the Hudson. The Vulture is the same ship at the center of the Arnold–André affair, which ended with Major John André’s capture in Tarrytown that September. His sister Sarah’s stone, from 1764, is the oldest legible one in the cemetery.
Plan on an hour or so. Many stones are weathered and fragile, so please take care around them. The cemetery is owned by the Town of Ossining and cared for with help from the Ossining Historic Cemeteries Conservancy, whose Old Leather Man page tells his full story. For more background, see Sparta Cemetery on Sleepy Hollow Country.
How to Visit Sparta Cemetery
Location: 181 Revolutionary Road, Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510. The cemetery is in the Town of Ossining on Route 9, about 200 yards north of the Revolutionary Road intersection, and the entrance is off Route 9.
Parking: Limited parking is available off Route 9, but turning back onto Route 9 from the cemetery can be dangerous, so use extra caution. You can also park on Revolutionary Road side of the cemetery.
Hours: No posted hours. Daylight visits make the most sense.
Admission: Free.