‘Tis the night before Christmas…

A Visit From St. Nicholas manuscript
A Visit From St. Nicholas manuscript

…and there’s no better time to remind folks that the legendary poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” penned by Rev. Clement Moore of New York City on Christmas Eve, 1822, was first published right here in Troy, in the pages of the Troy Sentinel. A family friend obtained a copy and passed it to the newspaper, which printed it without attribution in 1823; it wasn’t until 1837 that Moore admitted authorship.

The Troy Sentinel’s building still stands, at 225 River Street. Currently the home of the Beacon Institute of Rivers and Estuaries, a small plaque marks the historic publication of this poem.

Don Ritter had much more of the story of this poem back in 2010. You can read it here.

One response to “‘Tis the night before Christmas…”

  1. […] Then read about how the legendary poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas” was first published right here in Troy. […]

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