Washington Irving's Sunnyside

Upon returning to the United States in 1832, Irving traveled to the Oklahoma Territory with a US Army expedition. There he gathered information for later writing which included A Tour on the Prairies (1835) and Astoria (1836), a history of John Astor's fur-trading adventures.

After three years in the West, Irving returned to New York and settled in Tarrytown, a small community on the Hudson River. With the exception of a four-year diplomatic assignment to Spain, Irving lived the rest of his life in Tarrytown, New York.

Irving spent ten years researching and writing Life of Washington, a five-volume biography. Published from 1855 to 1859, this in-depth biography has been regarded as the definitive work on the life of George Washington.

Irving was one of America's most beloved and respected citizens. He received many honors during his lifetime including honorary degrees from Columbia, Harvard, and Oxford universities. He received the Gold Medal in History from England's Royal Society of Literature and served as the first president of the Astor Library (now called the New York Public Library).

Washington Irving died at Sunnyside in 1859. He is buried in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.

Further Adventures for Literary Tourists

Check out the Washington Irving Memorial Park and Arboretum at Bixby, Oklahoma.

And, while you are on the trail, don't miss The Washington Irving Trail Museum in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Both of these sites commemorate the author and his expedition to the Oklahoma Territory in 1873.

Copyright 2000 by Ella Robinson

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