Johnny Appleseed
JOHNNY APPLESEED
JOHNNY APPLESEED. As the American frontier moved into Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, the settlers lacked fruit until orchards could be planted and could grow. Since the settlers did not have money, they could not have bought young trees even if nurseries had existed. Not surprisingly, horticulture languished. Therefore, between 1801 and 1847, John Chapman dedicated himself to bringing seed from Pennsylvania to the frontier forests and planting flowers and fruit trees, especially apple trees. He intended them to be ready for the free use of the settlers when they arrived. Meager documentary evidence and rich tradition have preserved Chapman's fame under the sobriquet "Johnny Appleseed."
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Price, Robert. Johnny Appleseed: Man and Myth. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1954.
BlissIsely/a. e.
See alsoFolklore ; Frontier ; Fruit Growing .