Johnny Appleseed

 

Real name, John Chapman.  Born on this day in 1774.

He became an American legend while he was still alive, as a nurseryman and conservationist.

Johnny started an apprenticeship as an orchardist, inspiring his love of apples.  By 1800, he had his own orchard in Licking River, Ohio.  Once he decided to spread out, he started planting nurseries instead of orchards.  He would build fences around them and leave them in the care of neighbors, returning every year or two to tend the trees.

In 1817, the Church of New Jerusalem spoke of a missionary who traveled around sowing apple seeds.

He introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Ontario - as well as some northern counties of West Virginia.

A last remnant in Savannah, Ohio.

We were recently gifted some homemade apple sauce from a friend's tree.

Yum.