Johnny Appleseed’s actual name was Jonathan Chapman. He was born on September 26, 1774. Chapman earned this nickname by planting apple trees and starting orchards while walking across 100,000 square miles of wilderness and grassland Eastern United States.Chapman only lived off the food provided by nature and never killed animals. Although he appeared poor, he gained wealth by selling his apple trees and land. He preferred bartering and trading, and he developed a complex system of storing his money by burying it in the ground rather than using a bankChapman acquired more than 1,000 acres of farmland which he developed into orchards. In 1842 he made his last trip back to Ohio after 50 years of walking the land.
On March 18, 1845, he died of pneumonia at 71 years old.Fort Wayne still celebrates the life of Johnny Appleseed with a festival in September when the apples are harvested.Although the winter weather made a small change of plans for today to celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day, we are not letting it get the best of us. Instead of planting an apple tree outside today, our greenhouse expert decided to dress up as Johnny Appleseed and plant an apple tree indoors that will be transplanted outside once the weather warms up again.
