Johnny Appleseed

John Chapman (September 26, 1774 ? March, 1847) was an American pioneer and Swedenborgian Christian missionary known as "Johnny Appleseed" because he planted apple trees in large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. He was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, and became an American legend while he was still alive, being portrayed in works of art and literature. He is considered an early conservationist, what would be called today an ecologist.

Chapman's mission

The apple orchards planted by Chapman yielded a small, sour variety of fruit. It was not the sweet snack hybridized by modern cultivators. The apple of the early nineteenth century was primarily used to make hard cider, or applejack, which was the preferred alcoholic beverage in the early American West. (M. Pollan, chap. 1)

Related Topics:
Hard cider - Applejack

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