Looking back
In 1649, at the age of 74, Leeghwater published a second book, Een kleyne Chronycke van Graft en de Ryp(A Short Chronicle of Graft and De Ryp). It is a retrospective of the history of both villages based on his own memories and stories told to him by family and friends. He also recorded highlights from his own career in this book. De Kleyne Chronycke only really became famous after Leeghwater died in Amsterdam in early 1650. On January 6, 1654, De Rijp was hit by a very severe fire. Except for the town hall, the entire village burned down. The Amsterdam publisher Schabaelje quickly produced a new edition of De Kleyne Chronycke, in which he included his own account of the great fire. The result was a topical and dramatic work about the rise and fall of the flourishing village of De Rijp. Schabaelje's edited edition was reprinted no fewer than 14 times until 1862.
