Here, atop Authors' Ridge in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, lies Henry David Thoreau, his grave adorned by visitors.
But why the stones? Let me explain. A pile of rocks grew to mark the original site of Thoreau's cabin on Walden Pond. That seemed to have started a custom as remarked upon by Walt Whitman who visited the cabin site in 1881. "Then to Walden Pond, that beautifully embower'd sheet of water, and spent over an hour there. On the spot in the woods where Thoreau had his solitary house is now quite a cairn of stones, to mark the place; I too carried one and deposited on the heap."
3 comments:
Sleepy Hollow is such a fascinating cemetery. So many interesting residents.
Most interesting. Seems to me, though, that Thoreau would have a more elegant final resting place...but, on second thought, that wouldn't have been like him. I guess.
I live the photo very much!
Always fascinating to walk through a cemetery.
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