Johnny Appleseed is an American folktale hero. He was said to wander with a tin pot like hat and a satchel of apples, planting trees as he went. Appleseed's story was based on a real man named John Chapman.
John Chapman was born in the state of Massachusetts, on September 26 in 1774. Little is known about Chapman’s life, but it is known that after his mother's passing during childbirth, his father remarried and Chapman gained ten half siblings. By the year of 1812, John Chapman was working as an orchardist and nurseryman.
John Chapman traveled all over Pennsylvania and Ohio, pursuing his work. While John Chapman planted for profit, the Johnny Appleseed character planted seeds at random.The trees that he planted had multiple purposes, and although they did not have edible fruit, the small, tart apples his orchards produced were useful generally to make hard cider. At the time of his death, March 18, 1845, John Chapman owned around 1,200 acres of valuable and useful land.
The tale of Johnny Appleseed appeared shortly after Chapman’s death. He grew to be widely known for establishing orchards all over the midwest.
You can still visit one of his trees. Nova, Ohio, holds a 176-year-old tree, the last known to be planted by John Chapman. It grows tart green apples, which are now used for applesauce and baking in addition to cider making.
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Nicole Stetsyuk