Johnny Appleseed
Jonathan Chapman, born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on September 26, 1775, came to be known as “Johnny Appleseed.” Chapman earned his nickname because he planted nurseries and individual apple trees across 100,000 square miles of midwestern wilderness and prairie—resulting in settlers’ planting their own orchards.
The first record of Chapman’s presence in the Midwest dates to 1801 when he was known to be on the Ohio River transporting bushels of apple seeds from western Pennsylvania for his nurseries. Chapman’s first apple-tree nursery was along the Allegheny Valley in northwestern Pennsylvania; he then ventured into central and northwestern Ohio and to eastern Indiana. Chapman scouted routes that he thought pioneers would settle and planted his seedlings ahead of the new settlements.
Chapman lived in Mansfield, Ohio, for about twenty years. Years before the Homestead Act he acquired about 1,000 acres of farmland in Mansfield through a local homestead arrangement. Chapman used the land to develop apple-tree nurseries. His reputation as a conservationist, a brave frontiersman, and as an eccentric (in dress as well as mannerisms) grew, as did stories of his kindness to animals and his heroic exploits.
Chapman was an ambulant man. Each year he traveled hundreds of miles on foot—wearing clothing made from sack cloth and carrying a cooking pot that he is said to have worn like a cap. His travels took him through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana.
As a member of the New Church, or, Church of the New Jerusalem, (Swedenborgian), he left sections of Swedenborgian tracts at cabins that he visited and preached “God has made all things for good.”
In about 1830, Chapman also acquired land in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he planted a nursery that produced thousands of seedling apple trees that he sold, traded, and planted elsewhere. Chapman passed away at the age of seventy. Every September, when apples are ripe, Fort Wayne hosts an annual festival to commemorate the life of Johnny Appleseed.
Legend and folklore has transformed Johnny Appleseed into a folk hero—the patron saint of horticulture.
Learn More
- Search the Digital Collections with photographs using the keyword apples for a wide variety of related images.
- Search on apple in Historic American Sheet Music for sheet music with an apple theme.
- Search the American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1940 interviews on the term apple to find information on apple picking, instructions on how to peel apples, a recipe for apple dumplings, and much more. These life histories were written by the staff of the Folklore Project of the Federal Writers’ Projectfor the U.S. Works Progress (later Work Projects) Administration (WPA). This Library of Congress collection includes 2,900 documents representing the work of over 300 writers from 24 states.
- Search on Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, or Indiana in the Map Collections to see early maps of the towns visited by Johnny Appleseed. Follow the instructions presented with each map to zoom in on details such as houses, fields, horse drawn carts, bridges, and much more.
- Search on the keyword apple in the collection Tending the Commons: Folklife and Landscape in Southern West Virginia to see photos and to hear audio selections concerning apples. Listen to, for example, Old Apple Orchards on Drews Creek and view Wolf Rivers Apple Tree behind Elsie Rich’s House.
The Winter of Discontent
On September 26, 1777, British troops marched into Philadelphia and occupied the city. Their approach had forced the Second Continental Congress, meeting in the Pennsylvania State House (later called Independence Hall), to flee some days before. The Congress met briefly in Lancaster, and then convened at York, Pennsylvania until the British departed Philadelphia the following June.
A few weeks earlier on September 11, General George Washington and his Continental Army had battled the British west of Philadelphia at Brandywine Creek. That evening, Washington sent a letter to the Continental Congress reporting the outcome:
Sir: I am sorry to inform you that in this day’s engagement, we have been obliged to leave the enemy masters of the field. Unfortunately the intelligence received of the enemy’s advancing up the Brandywine, and crossing at a Ford about six miles above us, was uncertain and contradictory, notwithstanding all my pains to get the best…our loss of men is not, I am persuaded, very considerable, I believe much less than the enemy’s…. Notwithstanding the misfortune of the day, I am happy to find the troops in good spirits; and I hope another time we shall compensate for the losses now sustained. The Marquis La Fayette was wounded in the leg, and Genl. Woodford in the hand. Divers other Officers were wounded, and some Slain, but the number of either cannot now be ascertained… G. Washington. P. S. It has not been in my power to send you earlier intelligence; the present being the first leisure moment I have had since the action.George Washington to Continental Congress, September 11, 1777. Series 4, General Correspondence. George Washington Papers. Manuscript Division
While the British occupied the city, Washington and his army took up winter quarters at Valley Forge, some twenty-five miles west of Philadelphia. At times, both supplies and morale were low as the American troops braved a cold and snowy winter. The winter at Valley Forge has since become a symbol of dedicated patriots overcoming adversity during the American War for Independence.
In a studio recording of a 1917 commemorative speech first delivered at Valley Forge, Speaker of the House of Representatives Champ Clark paid tribute to the suffering of the brave men there:
Here in the winter of discontent, our fortunes sank to the lowest point. But from this place, Washington went forth conquering, and to conquer, and to become the foremost man of all the world.“At Valley Forge.” Speech by Speaker of the House Champ Clark; [New York]: Nation’s Forum, January 17, 1918. American Leaders Speak: Recordings from World War I. Motion Picture, Broadcasting & Recorded Sound Division
In the spring of 1778, the British hastily abandoned Philadelphia for New York City, concerned that the new alliance between the French and Americans would result in a successful blockade of the Delaware River. Washington pursued, marching his men to the New Jersey coast where the Revolutionary War continued.
Learn More
- See the special presentation To Form a More Perfect Union in Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774 to 1789.
- Search on Valley Forge in the George Washington Papers. See, for example, a map showing the original plan for the defense of the Valley Forge Camp, dating from late 1777 or early 1778.
- See Volume IX and Volume X of the Journals of the Continental Congress in A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1785.
- View A Guide to the American Revolution, 1763-1783 to locate materials relating to the American Revolution on the Library’s website as well as on external sites. View a bibliography with selections for both general and younger readers.
- Primary Documents in American History links to significant documents from the Revolutionary era including Washington’s Commission as Commander in Chief and the Declaration of Independence.
- Search Today in History on Revolutionary War. Read, for example, about General Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown.
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