An eccentric nomad of American legend, Johnny Appleseed was said to plant apple trees throughout the frontier in the 19th century, but how does the history differ from the lore?
Some may have learned about Johnny Appleseed from the 1948 Disney anthology Melody Time. Some may have learned about him in a poem. And some may have heard the rhyme that goes, “Here comes Johnny Appleseed. Apple seeds are all he needs. Planting orchards on his way out West. Wears a pot upon his head. Beneath the trees he makes his bed. Folks say Johnny’s apples are the best!”
In these depictions, Johnny Appleseed is a folksy frontier figure who spends his time wandering the West, joyfully sowing apple seeds and making friends with everyone he meets. He’s often depicted as an eccentric but harmless character whose passion is simply planting apple trees.
North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy Stock PhotoJohnny Appleseed planting his famous apples.
But people may be surprised to know that Johnny Appleseed was not just a character from American folklore — but a real person. And while poems, rhymes, and songs capture some of his story, they don’t tell the full tale of Johnny Appleseed. Indeed, the true story of Johnny Appleseed is a far cry from the Disney version presented in 1948.
For starters, Johnny Appleseed’s real name was not Johnny Appleseed, but John Chapman. And while it’s true that Chapman spent his life planting apples, his motives weren’t as wholesome as some poems suggest. For example, one poem about Johnny Appleseed goes: “Why did he do it?/We do not know/He wished that apples/Might root and grow.” But the truth is that Johnny Appleseed had a purpose when he planted his apple trees.
The purpose? Money. Appleseed’s main goal in planting apples was to sell orchards to homesteaders who were moving west en masse in the 19th century in search of new frontiers and new opportunities. Appleseed set out to profit from this trend in westward migration. And the apples he planted? They were not meant for pies or cobblers or even to enjoy fresh from the tree. Rather, they were used to make hard apple cider.
But while Johnny Appleseed was, in some ways, far from the down-home character that appears in American folklore, the poems and stories about him do get some facts right. He was eccentric, he was a nomad who traveled across the West, and he did plant apples — more than 1,000 acres of them.
This is the full story of Johnny Appleseed, from his motivations for planting apple seeds to his unusual religious beliefs to his sudden demise.
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