John Chapman, a legend in his time. Who was this man? A barefoot tree-hugger who helped shape the American forefront? Johnny Appleseed has risen to be one of the great legends of American history. His love of apple trees was a key factor in early American horticulture. Unlike some past heroes such as Paul Bunyan who were merely mythical, Johnny Appleseed was based on a real person and actual facts. However, not all is true. From The Core of Johnny Appleseed, Ray Silverman (2012) writes, “when a man has been gone from the world for over 160 years the facts and fictions can get mixed together as people tell and retell the stories about him” (p. x). This article will delve deep into the history of John Chapman to separate fact from fiction from …show more content…
18). It was then that the blossoms became the apple of his eye. When he grew up he vowed that no one would go hungry and set out to plant thousands of apple trees to feed the hungry new settlers travelling west. Johnny outfitted with nothing more than a tin pot he dual-purposed as a hat, a bible, a sack of apple seeds, and bearing nothing on his feet journeyed the lands planting orchards upon orchards of apple trees (Holub, 2005, p. 3). The tall slender man was loved by all the creatures of the land and it was even said that he shared a hollowed tree trunk with a mother bear and her cubs during a cold winter night. There was never a closed door for Johnny as he trekked town from town for every person was happy to see him and welcomed him into there home to stay overnight or for a meal (Silverman, 2012, p. 23). After his orchards matured many a foods were made from his delicious apples for countless years later. This tall-tale had a few variations but this has information to know the real man under the mash pot …show more content…
The nurseries were also how Chapman became to own a vast amount of property throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. The Northwest Ordinance had opened the territory that today includes Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin for settlement, however, it stated the requirement that the owner of land purchased or acquired by a land grant to plant fifty apple of pear trees within the first three years of ownership (Silverman, 2012, p. 42). The ordinance requirement was in place to assure the land was used for its intended purpose and to discourage real estate speculation. By planting the many nurseries served two purposes for Chapman, the saplings proved profitable by selling them to traveling settlers as well as claiming the land for Chapman to gain ownership. After establishing the requirement of the ordinance Chapman would then collect the deed for the land. The apple trees were not of much use other than for that