In his 1819 story ‘The Legend of Sleepy Hollow’, Washington Irving described a bucolic little village in memorable terms: “If ever I should wish for a retreat whither I might steal from the world and its distractions, and dream quietly away the remnant of a troubled life, I know of none more promising than this little valley… A drowsy, dreamy influence seems to hang over the land, and pervade the very atmosphere… certain it is, the place still continues under the sway of some witching power, that holds a spell over the minds of the good people, causing them to walk in a continual reverie.