They called me Johnny Appleseed, but my real name was John Chapman. I was born Sept. 26, 1774, near Leominster, Massachusetts. I was a pretty smart kid, and education made a big difference in my life. When I was 24 or 25, I became a nurseryman. That's someone who works with plants. I liked apple trees, and I planted them on the western side of New York and Pennsylvania. Some of the big orchards you can see there today started with my trees.
I was always looking for new places. In the early 1800s, I was one of the first to explore the rich, fertile lands south of the Great Lakes and west of the Ohio River when they were opened for settlers. They later called it the Northwest Territory - what became the states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. I called this big territory home for almost half a century - that's 50 years.
The settlers named me Johnny Appleseed. Some called me the Apple Tree Man, because I had lots of apple trees to sell people so they could have their own orchards.
Here's how I did it: I went into the wilderness with a bag of apple seeds slung over my back. I'd walk around until I found a good place to plant my trees. Of course, I had to clear the land and chop brush and weeds by hand. Then, I'd plant my seeds in nice, neat rows and build a brush fence around them to keep animals from digging them up or eating them before they got a chance to grow. Some of my nurseries were about an acre or so. Others were quite a bit bigger.
