WASHINGTON (DC News Now) -- "'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring -- not even a mouse." We've all heard the rhyme before -- but where did it come from? On Dec. 23 201 years ago, the poem "Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas" was first published anonymously in the Troy, New York Sentinel. The poem's author remained a mystery for around 14 years -- but that didn't stop it from gaining fame. It quickly established itself as a Christmas classic. On This Day | NASA’s Curiosity rover finds signs of life on Mars In 1837, Charles Fenno Hoffman said that his friend, Clement Moore, had written the poem. Moore also included the poem in his own anthology. The question of the poem's author isn't without its own controversy, though -- some claim that Henry Livingston wrote the poem instead. Livingston died a few years after the poem's publication and never claimed ownership. Now commonly known as "The Night Before Christmas," the poem is a holiday staple for many.