What year does the story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" take place?

Most agree
that the events of the short story "" take place in the year 1790, thirty years prior
to the publication of the story in 1820.

The earlier date explains the
pervasive belief in spirits and ghosts that are such an integral part of the story. Since
"The Enlightenment" (1685 to 1815) was still incomplete in 1790, the superstitions
that make the story work would have been commonplace - a situation more unlikely in 1820 when
the story was actually written.