Johnny Appleseed:American Original

With the raw earth and wild terrain of the Ohio Valley beneath his bare feet, John Chapman kept the same-metered stride whether trekking through thick bramble or wide-open fields. The oversized knapsack he carried was filled to the brim with apple seeds intended for planting near and far to create nurseries, such was the life of the man who quickly became known as Johnny Appleseed.

A true American original, Johnny Appleseed was by nature a kind and generous soul. Compelled to put others before himself, he relinquished all the vestiges of the material world to become an emissary for the protection of animals and nature, as well as a Christian missionary and sometime preacher.

The son of an itinerant farmer, around 1786 John apprenticed as an orchardist in his hometown of Leominster, Massachusetts. As a young man of eighteen, he heard the call of the frontier and decided to take advantage of a resolution giving land to Revolutionary War veterans on behalf of his father who had served under General George Washington. Licking County, Ohio was the proving ground for John's first test as a nurseryman with trees large enough to transplant by 1802.

It's easy to envision Johnny Appleseed nonchalantly walking state to state, including Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, while randomly dropping apple seeds with some hapenchance notion that most of them would grow and take root. The facts speak to a master plan where specific nurseries were planted with protective barriers to keep out the intrusion of livestock and allow the seedlings the best opportunity to grow.

With zeal Johnny Appleseed continued his travels, by foot or by boat, to acquire additional acreage and plant as many apple tree nurseries as possible. He would strike a deal with local neighbors who would manage the nurseries in his absence. In trade for this service the neighbor, acting as manager, would receive later receive grown trees as shares of interest. Johnny would faithfully return to the area within one or two years to gauge the progress of each nursery.

Johnny Appleseed preferred to use any money he made to save abused horses then give them away to families that promised to care for them. He chose to go barefoot rather than use leather and would rather brave a freezing night than see a mosquito burned by the flame of a campfire. The enduring legacy of Johnny Appleseed is one of conservationism, Christian brotherhood, and service to others.