Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, MA

Our next visit in Concord was to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, opened in 1855.

When we got into the car to go, Miss M asked us where we were going next… uhh… how do you explain that for a 3 year old. The best thing we could come up with was a park with a lot of rocks.

From Wikipedia:

The cemetery is the burial site of a number of famous Concordians, including some of the United States’ greatest authors and thinkers, especially on a hill known as “Author’s Ridge.”

I had looked up directions before leaving, but it was still a little difficult to navigate to “Author’s Ridge” because there was still snow piled up on the sides of the road, covering up signs. Tonya spotted a sign that was peaking out of the snow by only 2 inches- but it was enough for us to know which way to go.

There is not THIS much snow left anywhere in Boston/Cambridge. The further we got out of town, we saw more snow. I’m not sure if it’s because maybe it snowed more out here, hasn’t gotten as warm, or maybe not as much traffic/snow removal.

We made our way to the ridge. We were the only car we saw out there. We just pulled over to the side.  Here is the next sign pointing us to the ridge.

Henry David Thoreau (Transcendentalist, philosopher, and author)

Nathaniel Hawthorne (author of The Scarlet Letter and others)

The Alcott Family: including Amos Bronson Alcott (Transcendentalist, philosopher, educator), Abby May (Wife of Amos Bronson Alcott), and their daughter Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women and others). You’ll learn more about the Alcott’s in the next post.

Louisa May Alcott

Ralph Waldo Emerson– American lecturer, philosopher, essayist, and poet, best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century.

I didn’t learn this until today, but Emerson’s stone faces a large stone at the bottom of the hill, which covers the resting place of Ephraim Wales Bull, the originator of the celebrated Concord Grape.

Emerson’s Wife Lidian

Here are some other pictures I took:

The Civil War Veteran marker

Old Steps

Snow-covered rock wall

The next stop you’ll hear about is the Orchard House, the home of the Alcott family.