JOHNNY APPLESEED FESTIVAL with KIDS! 2:51 minute video posted Sep 11, 2022 by VOs Travel with KIDS on YouTube
Where to go and what to do at the Johnny Appleseed Festival in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It’s the best fall festival in the Midwest! A festival dedicated to the life and times of Johnny Appleseed. See what vendors offer, watch Civil War reenactors, find the best food and let your kiddos go wild on games! Music by Soltre - www.soltreband.com Homestead chicken and dumplings, Little John’s Root Beer, antiques, vintage, farmers market, homemade home goods, kids games, live bluegrass music, live marching drum line, Johnny Appleseed grave site, where is Johnny Appleseed buried
The Best Fall Festival in the Midwest - The Johnny Appleseed Festival! 5 minute video posted Sep 21, 2018 by Manly Moments on YouTube
Every September the Johnny Appleseed Festival marks the unofficial celebration of Autumn in Fort Wayne, IN. It is, debatably, the best Fall festivals in the Midwest as the sites and sounds of the 1800's are relived while celebrating the life of John Chapman. This video will give you a small glimpse of this amazing event.
Fort Wayne Apple Trail is a Visit Fort Wayne promotion From apple orchards to the tales of Johnny Appleseed and his heritage, explore the destinations along the Fort Wayne Apple Trail.
Our local Fort Wayne minor league baseball team the Tin Caps has Johnny TinCap as their team mascot. The appletree next to The Orchard Team Store, 1301 Ewing Street, at Parkview Field is from the last known tree planted by John Chapman from a September 26, 2022 post by the Fort Wayne TinCaps on Facebook and Twitter.
A Rambo Apple tree, a descendant of the apple trees Chapman grew near Nova, Ohio, was recently planted next to the Old Fort here in Fort Wayne. Cuttings (small pieces) of the original tree were grafted onto different root stock (already growing trees). According to the Old Fort Palisade newsletter, these grafted trees were planted throughout the Fort Wayne area years ago – two of them still growing at the Johnny Appleseed memorial gravesite. Fort Wayne gardener Carsten Retrum raised a grafted Johnny Appleseed Rambo Apple tree at his home. In December of 2016, he donated the tree to the Old Fort. It will serve as a symbolic memento of the legacy Johnny Appleseed has in this area. Copied from Johnny Appleseed's Legacy Lives On in Fort Wayne by Louisa D. on Mar. 15, 2017 on the Visit Fort Wayne blog.
About Johnny Appleseed Authentic™ Apple Trees the Johnny Appleseed Authentic™ Alego apple tree is a piece of America's pioneering legacy, first came to attention in 1995, after decades of stewardship on the Harvey-Algeo centennial farm in Ashland County, Ohio. Trees Grafted from the Last Known Surviving Tree Planted by Johnny Appleseed at PlantMeGreen.com.
Apple orchards today can produce about 10 times more than they did 100 years ago, thanks to researchers at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Plant Genetic Resources Unit in Geneva, New York, and their partners at Cornell University. Copied from an October 9, 2022 post by USDA Agricultural Research Service on Facebook.
Street View photo from Google maps of Johnny Appleseed bench downtown at 227 Lincoln Highway aka Jefferson Blvd. in front of Hampton Inn & Suites Fort Wayne next to Parkview Field.
Johnny Appleseed Festival Board helps unveil Johnny Appleseed in downtown Ft Wayne. Over the past year, the festival, along with Urbana University, home of the Johnny Appleseed Historical Society/Museum, have been working with White Lodging as they commissioned an artist to design a sculpture to sit downtown outside their new Hampton Inn & Suites.
Fast forward almost a year later - its here and was revealed during the ribbon cutting and grand opening of the hotel.
We hope you'll all visit downtown Fort Wayne and if you get your picture with it, post it here to FB for us to see!
Thank you White Lodging for including us in this memorable day and permanent mark on Fort Wayne.
The Apple Orchard at Glenbrook Mall is a treasure. Fort Wayne’s “Johnny Appleseed” carving by L. Dean Butler now stands in the H&M store at Glenbrook Square Mall.
At age 85, sculptor Hector Garcia wants to live long enough to make Fort Wayne’s first serious public work depicting John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. The folk art carving in the mall doesn’t count, he says. Nor does Johnny TinCap, the playful mascot of Fort Wayne’s minor league baseball team. “Those are cartoons,” explains Garcia, whose numerous sculptures include the towering Little Turtle in Headwaters Park and Jesuit Priest where the city’s three rivers meet. “I want the real person.” Copied from Where’s Johnny? A sculptor wants to immortalize 'the real' Johnny Appleseed in downtown Fort Wayne by Ann Votaw, March 13, 2019 on Input Fort Wayne.
A January 23, 2023 post on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook with a photo captioned: Sculptor Dean Butler has almost completed the basic figure shaping on his Johnny Appleseed wood carving at Glenbrook Mall. Butler started on his 10-foot tall sculpture of the early Fort Wayne personality earlier this Summer and hopes to finish it by the end of August. (Staff Photo by Argil Shock). Handwriting in blue ink July 24, 1976.
Johnny Appleseed Publications
Appleseed, Johnny, 1774-1845 on The Online Books Page show just a few titles among over 3 million free books on the web with only a few shown below. Archive.org has millions of digital items online including thousands of titles from our local library.
There are 100s of online Johnny Appleseed publications many are more fiction than historical. Some of the more interesting ones are posted on this page. Their are two local newspaper articles May 3, 1914 and May 10, 1914 titled Two Men in Fort Wayne Were Present at Appleseed Funeral discussing a personal recollection from attending the funeral, a Johnny Appleseed memorial commission on May 1, 1956 here in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with the original at Ohio State University, referencing many early publications, along with the 94-page National Register of Historic Places application listing sources, and the 1978 Steven Fortriede book which also lists many sources including courthouse records that are most likely among the best sources of accurate historical data.
John W. Dawson, who came to Fort Wayne in 1836, knew Johnny Appleseed personally, and was 25 years old when Johnny Appleseed died. He was 51 years old when he published October 21-23, 1871 in the Fort Wayne Sentinel several articles about Johnny Appleseed reprinted on pages 1-6 of the Johnny Appleseed Memorial Commission shown above. He states it is certain Johnny Appleseed came to Allen County by 1830.
Page 5 states Johnny Appleseed died on March 11, 1845 [documents indicate death date is March 18, 1845] at the house of William Worth in St. Joseph township, Allen Co., Ind., on the land now owned by Jesse Cole, on the Feeder canal, and was buried in a reasonable time thereafter, at the family buring ground set apart by David Archer, deceased, now owned by Mr. Emanuel Rudisill and may be seen by the passer-up the towing path of the feeder, occupying a beautiful natural mound. At the east side of this mound, near its foot, Johnny Appleseed was buried, and a stone was then put up to mark the spot, by our townsman, Saml. C. Fletter, who attended his dying hours, dressed his body, laid it out and made his coffin. These are indisputable, and are in general confirmed by the papers on file in the Probate Court.
Page 15Monuments and Memorials item 7 says the granite stone marker placed on grave by Optomist Club of Fort Wayne May 26, 1935. The stone was taken from the Slinck farm ten miles down the Maumee river below Fort Wayne where Johnny Appleseed had a nursery of 15,000 apple trees when he died. The stone has the carving of an apple and an open bible inscribed Holy Bible. Between the apple and the bible are the following words: Johnny Appleseed, John Chapman. He lived for others. A copper plate, made by pupils of the James H. Smart School was placed on the fence to correct the dates. Johnny Appleseed John Chapman b. September 26, 1774; d. March 18, 1845.
Page 16Official Action - December 27, 1934 - The Johnny Appleseed Memorial Commission made a report upon the location of the grave of Johnny Appleseed. The commission invited those interested in the controversy to submit evidence. Both oral and written evidence was submitted. Their decision was summed up in the following words. The members of the commission do not recommend a change in the accepted location of the grave of Johnny Appleseed. The accepted location is the Archer Burying Ground.
Johnny Appleseed’s flask. While wandering the frontier planting trees and spreading the Gospel as a missionary, Appleseed no doubt got thirsty. A pocket flask known to be used by Appleseed, who died in 1845, is on display at the museum. Copied from History Center’s ‘200 @ 200’ project highlights area’s past posted January 22, 2016 by The News-Sentinel newspaper.
Allen County, Indiana was created on December 17, 1823, from Delaware and Randolph counties then established April 1, 1824. The last blockhouse of the last Fort Wayne was photographed in 1852.
87 Appendix a John Chapman’s Ancestry in both his father’s and his mother’s line, the ancestry starts with the first person to arrive in what would become the United States. this list is reprinted, with permission, from Robert Price’s Johnny Appleseed: Man and Myth, courtesy of the Johnny aAppleseed Foundation at Urbana University.
5. Nathaniel Chapman
b. Tewksbury, Massachusetts, Washington County, Ohio, 1807
Married (first) Eabeth Simons (or Simonds) of Leominster, Massachusetts, February 8, 1770
Children: Elizabeth, b. November 18, 1770
John, b. September 26, 1774 (“Johnny appleseed”)
Nathaniel, b. June 26, 1776
Saturday, March 22, 1845 Fort Wayne Weekly Sentinel, page 2, copied in 2013 from microfilm at the Allen County Public Library.
DIED--In this city, on Tuesday last, Mr. Thomas McJanet, stone cutter, aged 54 years, a native of Girven, Ayrshire, Scotland.
On the same day in this neighborhood at an advanced age, Mr. John Chapman (better known as Johnny Appleseed).
The deceased was well known through this region by his eccentricity, and the strange garb he usually wore. He followed the occupation of a nurseryman, and has been a regular visitor here upwards of 10 years. He was a native of Pennsylvania we understand but his home - if home he had - for some years past was in the neighborhood of Cleveland where he has relatives living. He is supposed to have considerable property, yet denied himself almost the common necessities of life - not so much perhaps for avarice as from his peculiar notions on religious subjects. He was a follow of Swedenborg and devoutly believed that the more he endured in this world the less he would have to suffer and the greater would be his happiness hereafter - he submitted to every privation with cheerfulness and content, believing that in so doing he was securing snug quarters hereafter.
In the most inclement weather he might be seen barefooted and almost naked except when he chanced to pick up articles of old clothing. Notwithstanding the privations and exposure he endured he lived to an extreme old age, not less than 80 years at the time of his death - though no person would have judged from his appearance that he was 60. He always carried with him some work on the doctrines of Swedenborg with which he was perfectly familiar, and would readily converse and argue on his tenets, using much shrewdness and penetration.
His death was quite sudden. He was seen on our streets a day or two previous.
Johnny Appleseed was a colorful pioneer of the Indiana frontier in the early 1800's. There is conflicting information on his death date with some sources saying he died in 1847, others say in 1845. The Fort Wayne Weekly Sentinel newspaper article Saturday March 22, 1845 shown above shows he died in March 1845, while The History Center has his death notice that says March 18, 1845. He may have attended Methodist church services that became the Saint Joseph United Methodist Church when they held services along the Saint Joseph River. His funeral was officiated by the Methodist circuit rider preacher according to the church history which occupied an existing school house a half mile east of the river by 1863 and since 1957 is located a mile east on the northeast corner of St. Joe Center and Reed Roads. A September 16, 1916 newspaper article interview of Hiriam Porter at age 91 was the only person still living at that time who knew Johnny Appleseed stated: I am the only person living who attended his burial. There was no real funeral. There was no minister. Several of us who were his friends got him a coffin and stood around when he was lowered into the grave. Porter was a school teacher who lived in St. Joseph Township around the St. Joe Road area on the Porter family farm and taught at the St. Joe Center school.
#OTD in 1845, pioneering apple farmer John Chapman, better known as "Johnny Appleseed," died near Fort Wayne. He had been protecting his saplings from cows that had broken down the fence of one of his orchards just north of Fort Wayne. Overcome by his exertions, he succumbed to the “winter plague.” Appleseed was buried along the St. Joseph River and the old feeder canal bed on the Archer farm.
The Fort Wayne Sentinel printed his death notice on Saturday, March 22, 1845, saying that he died on Tuesday, March 18, 1845 as mentioned on page 22 of the Steven Fortriede book.
I. H. W. Jones, the County Auditor authorized a January 1848 estate sale shown in the image on the right posted with several other images March 18, 2019 by The History Center on Facebook shown below.
Have you been to an apple orchard? The roots of today’s orchards in Allen County reach back to the efforts of early pioneer John Chapman (popularly known as Johnny Appleseed). Born in Leominster, Massachusetts in 1774, Chapman was a frontier horticulturalist and Swedenborgian missionary. Having previously visited the region, in the fall of 1830 he began purchasing land in Allen County in order to establish permanent apple orchards. When John Chapman died on March 18, 1845, his obituary was published in the Fort Wayne Sentinel, stating that “He followed the occupation of a nurseryman and has been a regular visitor here upwards of twenty years…” Following his death, several of his properties were sold by the county auditor, due to the fact that he owed back taxes. The properties, 48 acres in Milan Township and 116 acres in Maumee Township were sold in 1848 and 1849, respectively. In 1916, a decorative iron fence was erected by the Indiana Horticultural Society around the gravesite in Archer (Cemetery) Park, traditionally held to be Chapman’s final resting place. In 1935 the Optimist Club of Fort Wayne placed a headstone on the gravesite to honor the beloved early pioneer. Today, the 174th anniversary of his death, the History Center commemorates the man who would be known to the ages as the legendary Johnny Appleseed. #sociallyhistory
Page 371 JOHNNIE APPLESEED, HIS HANDWRITING AND HIS BURIAL, PLACE. John Chapman, known as "Johnnie Appleseed," died at the home of William Worth, near Fort Wayne, in 1843. "The historical account of his death and his burial by the Worths and their neighbors, the Pettits, the Goings, Porters, Notestines, Beckets, Parkers, Witesides, Pechons, Hatfelds, Parrants, Ballards, Randsells and the Archers, in the Archer burial ground, is substantially correct," wrote John Archer in 1900. "The common headboards used in those days long since have decayed and become entirely obliterated, and at this time I do not think that any person could, with any degree of certainty, come within fifty feet of locating the grave." The burying ground is located a few rods west of Stop 3, on the Robison park electric line. "Johnnie Appleseed" is the hero of many interesting works of fiction dealing with the story of his life, which was spent in planting apple trees throughout the wilderness of the middle west. The portrait and the facsimile of an order for apple trees are after engravings which accompanied an article by E. O. Randall in Vol. IX of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical society publications. A bronze tablet dedicated to the memory of Johnnie Appleseed was placed in Swinney park. Fort Wayne, in May, 1916.
Page 373 He died on the 11th of March, 1843, at the home of William Worth, and the body, placed in a plain board coffin, was interred in the Archer burying ground. Mr. Porter accompanied his parents and witnessed the burial. The exact location of the burial spot was forgotten and it remained unknown until 1912 when the remains, together with a fragment of the box, were discovered while digging a grave. They were replaced, and the second body was placed directly above them. The Archer burying ground is a small piece of ground located at "Stop 3" on the electric line running between Fort Wayne and Robison park.
Page 566, The pictorial history of Fort Wayne, Indiana : a review of two centuries of occupation of the region about the head of the Maumee River, Griswold, 1917. On the 5th of May, 1916, a bronze tablet in commemoration of the life work of John Chapman ("Johnnie Appleseed") was unveiled in Swinney Park by the Indiana Horticultural Society. The tablet reads: " 'Johnnie Appleseed' (John Chapman), born in Massachusetts, 1776; died near Fort Wayne, 1843; buried in David Archer cemetery ; pioneer apple grower of Indiana and Ohio. The Indiana Horticultural Society and all those who are endeavoring to carry on the work he nobly commenced join in dedicating this monument to the memory of his deeds." William Walton, of LaPorte, Indiana, president of the Indiana Horticultural Society, delivered the principal address, followed by Mayor William J. Hosey, and Dr. Alfred Vivian, dean of the Ohio Agricultural College. Songs by the school children included a composition by Miss Ruth Caldwell entitled "Johnnie Appleseed"; Edward R. Smith, president of the Indiana Apple Show Commission, and Prof. C. G. Woodbury also participated in the ceremony of dedication. (See Chapter XXIX.) See Indiana Horticultural Society information below.
See the full page May 6, 1916 newspaper article with photos.
Johnny Appleseed Memorial Friday afternoon May 5th the Society will hold suitable services in Fort Wayne in memory of Johnny Appleseed. A monument will be unveiled at this time in Swinney park. A suitable iron fence will be erected around the Johnny Appleseed grave in the Archer cemetery just north of Fort Wayne Every loyal member of the Society should plan to be on hand at this time to take part in these memorial exercises for this pioneer horticultural character. From page 386 Transactions of the Indiana Horticultural Society ..., Volume 56 By Indiana Horticultural Society a Google ebook. See Google map image of wrought iron fence.
Practical Hint No 3 May 29th 1916
May 5th 1916 Friday afternoon, May 5th, an enthusiastic gathering of northern Indiana fruit growers met to dedicate a monument to Johnny Appleseed. The exercises were held in Swinney park, where the monument was placed. This monument consists of a huge granite boulder which supports a bronze tablet bearing a bas relief of Johnny Appleseed and a suitable inscription. The boulder is uncut, being left just as it came from the field so as to be more in keeping with the character of Johnny Appleseed. The meeting was called to order at 2:30 by President Walton. Those in attendance were then addressed by Mayor W. E. Hosey, of Fort Wayne; Dean Alfred Vivian, of the Ohio Agricultural College; Prof. C. G. Woodbury, Chief in Horticulture, Purdue University; Colonel D. N. Foster, Chairman of the Fort Wayne park board and E. R. Smith of Indianapolis. Mr. Smith read a letter from Hon. Stephen Fleming of Fort Wayne, whose generosity made it possible for the Society to erect this monument. Eight hundred Fort Wayne school children sang appropriate songs at these exercises, one of which was especially composed for this occasion by Miss Ruth Caldwell of the Fort Wayne schools. A substantial iron fence was also erected around the grave site in the David Archer cemetery north of Fort Wayne. The Indiana Horticultural Society is to be congratulated on having such a loyal friend as the Hon. Stephen Fleming. He financed the entire scheme of erecting this memorial to Johnny Appleseed. Our only regret is that more of our members could not have been present at this very pleasing ceremony.
The "Johnny Appleseed" [ John Chapman ] marker at The Historical Marker Datatbase HMdb.org says the 1916 stone is near 1424 West Jefferson Blvd. which is actually the other side of the Swinney Homestead. I have a photo taken in 2006 with the tennis courts in the background that shows the 1916 stone facing Washington Blvd. towards a concrete memorial with a bronze bust on the southwest side of the Old Settlers garden. The 1916 stone is near a very tall pine tree up the hill barely visible on Google Street view with the red brick Old Settlers house on the left, a new utility brown pole in the 2019 Google image near West Washington Blvd. and small grove of crabapple trees on the right taken near the entrance to Swinney Park. See HMdb map.
This Google map photo from Street View showing the Johnny Appleseed Memorial Bridge facing east towards the Purdue Fort Wayne University campus is similar to the location of the 1950s-1960s photos discussed below. The roads on either side of Colisuem Boulevard have been slightly realigned since those photos were taken.
2022, May 30 - on the Jeopardy television show: Fort Wayne is home to the grave of this legendary orchard planter posted by Wesley's TV on Facebook. See Johnny Appleseed. Posted as Tonight on Jeopardy on Reddit.
Where is Johnny Appleseed aka John Chapman really buried?
The photo above is from the July 8, 1923 The Journal Gazette newspaper. It states: Members of the Indiana Historical and Pioneer societies during their recent two-days pilgrimage in Fort Wayne, did not fail to give honor to the memory of Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman), who in the early pioneers days traveled through the wilderness providing settlers with appleseeds. Chapman died at the farm home of William Worth in 1843 and lies buried in the old Archer cemetery, three miles north of the city, on the Robison park line.
Some claim when he died along the Saint Joseph River that he was buried on Henry Cassell's land now the 9th hole of the Canterbury Green Golf Course. There is some controversy and vagueness concerning the date of his death and his burial. From Johnny Appleseed on Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
The blueprint map on the right noting the location of Johnny Appleseed's cabin and the area around his cabin was prepared by A.K. Hofer, C.E., Fort Wayne, for the Three Rivers Forum July 1937 and is from Location Map of Johnny Appleseed Cabin and Vicinity on the Indiana Memory digital library at IN.gov linked to the original map at the History Center Digital Collection on the mDON mastodon Digital Object Network. You can zoom and move around on their scrollable map. A discussion of this map occurred June 28, 2017 on the original Great Memories and History of Fort Wayne, Indiana page on Facebook. The Transcript states: Location Map of Johnny Appleseed Cabin and Vicinity for the Three Rivers Forum. H.A.S. Levering, Pres., Fred A. Ball, Sec. Prepared by A.K. Hofer, C.E., Fort Wayne, July 1937. St. Joe River, Wooded, Worth's Cabin where Appleseed died, Ko chis ah (sepe) (Bean River Trail), Farm Buildings, Orchard, Spring and Strater cabins, Reservoir, Orchard, Kocisa Me-ar-we Trail, White Setter's Trail, Johnny Appleseed Squatter's Cabin, Farm Buildings, Old Orchard, Old Saw Mill, State Cemetery. Note: At left are shown in enlarged scale the locations of historic trails and cabins on W.S. Robuck [Roebuck] Farm. Legend: Point where stone bust was unearthed about 1907; 'Worth" on left breast; Burial place of Johnny Appleseed; Indian cabins; Areas in which evidence of burnt stones has been found. Old Paper Mill; Archer cemetery; Wabash & Erie Canal Feeder; St. Joe River, Trails; W.S. Roebuck Farm; Worth's Cabin and Johnny Appleseed Cabin; Old Saw Mill; Old Toll Gate; Indian Mound; Old St. Joe Turnpike; Spy Run; Feeder Canal; Old Apple Orchard;, Kekeonga; Maumee River; L.S. & M. S. R.R. [Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad]; Wabash & Erie Canal now N.Y.C. & St. L. R.R. [New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad]; Pennsylvania R.R.; Wabash R.R.; St. Marys River; The Old Portage. Auburn Road, Leo Road, St. Joe Center Rd., California Road, Coldwater Road, Stellhorn Rd, Old Goshen Plank Road, Wells St., Lima Plank Road, Parnell Ave. Spring St., Sherman St., Spy Run Ave., Delaware, Kentucky Ave., Crescent Ave., Hobson Road, State Blvd., Lake Ave., Main St., Jefferson Street, Lewis St., Maumee Ave., Broadway, Fairfield Ave., Clinton St., Hanna St., Anthony Blvd. City of Fort Wayne, "The Summit City". Scale of map one mile.
Indiana Memory digital library at IN.gov also has Neighborhood During Johnny Appleseed's Sojournings A map, photo, and documents showing and documenting the neighborhood at the time of Johnny Appleseed's death in 1845 which is a 5-page documentin the History Center Digital Collection on the mDON mastodon Digital Object Network. The Transcript states: Map: Map showing neighborhood during Johnny Appleseed's sojournings at the time of his death in the year 1845. W1/2 NW1/4 Sec 24: Adam Pettit, 1845. E1/2 NW1/4 Sec 24: Wm. Bolton, 1845. NE1/4 Sec 24: Henry Johns, 1845. Robert Crawford, 1845. Thos. Hatfield, 1845. 1845. Henry Cassel, 1845. 1845. SW1/4 Sec 24-31-12: William Bolton, 1845. W1/2 SE1/4 Sec. 24: Emanuel Rudisill, 1845. E1/2 SE1/4 Sec 24: Reinhart Gripe, 1845. Taber, 1845. John Spender, 1845. Indian Cabins & J. [Johnny] Appleseed Cabin. Christian Parker, 1845. Emanuel Rudisill, 1845. Eliza Forsythe, 1845. Robert Brackenridge, 1845. Bernard Muldoor, 1845. Old Rudisill Mill. Leo Road; Wabash & Erie Feeder Canal; St. Joe River; Old Trail; Kocisu Me-ar-we; Bean Trail; St. Joe Road; Clinton St.; Anthony Blvd.; State Blvd. Washington Township; Wayne Township; Adams Tp.; St. Joe Township. Scale 4" = 1 mile. Legend: Johnny Appleseed Cabin; Worth's Cabin; Indian Cabins. Prepared by A.K. Hofer, C.E. February 16, 1938.
Steven Fortriede is interviewed in this video: Johnny Appleseed: His Real Name And His Ties To Indiana posted Oct 23, 2015 by WTIU & WFIU - Indiana Public Media on YouTube. At the 3:25 minute mark it says Fortriede says the controversy about his burial location is pretty much settled. What do you know about Johnny Appleseed? The man who planted thousands of apple trees across the Midwest died here in Indiana. Lindsey Wright takes a closer look at his lasting impact.
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM
A six page document Form 10-300 (July 1969) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM for Johnny Appleseed Memorial Park dated January 17, 1973 is at the National Park Service.
A 94 page document received December 12, 1972 posted on the National Archives Catalog web page titled Indiana SP Johnny Appleseed Memorial Park states that Johnny Appleseed was buried in the two acre Archer Cemetery. Local cemetery records show at least 22 pioneers were buried in those two acres, so what happened to their tombstones? The Description, Item 7, on page 2 states:
Page 2 of 94
7. Description
Prior to the 1930's most of the area in Section 25 (See Property Plat Map attached) was practically a wilderness. Within this area to the south lies the Old David Archer cemetery consisting of 2 acres of land, and containing the grave of John Chapman, known as Johnny Appleseed.
During the 1930's some of the wilderness was cleared from a portion of the cemetery and a narrow gravel road was installed from there to Pamall Avenue. During this period, a granite memorial, surrounded by an iron fence, was erected on the cemetery indicating the dates of the birth and death of this pioneer. [The date of 1930s contradicts many newspaper articles in 1916 stating the granite memorial and iron fence were installed in 1916. ]
During the 1940's, and 1950's, most all of the wilderness and debris was cleared from most of Section 25. The land area comprising 11.34 acres, which included the 2 acre area of the Archer cemetery lying in the approximate center along the old Wabash-Erie canal was then set aside as the Johnny Appleseed Memorial Park Containing the Grave of Johnny Appleseed.
In 1952, the construction, near the intersection of Parnell Avenue and U.S. 30 By-Pass, of the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum was completed. There were no major changes made on the Appleseed property.
In September 1965, the following symbolic items of significance were installed on the Archer cemetery knoll for memorializing Johnny Appleseed:
(a)—Cobblestones were placed around the existing granite memorial to remind the visitor of the rough terrain trans-versed by Johnny Appleseed on his long barefoot journey to Port Wayne.
(b)—A large greensward cross, edged by railroad ties, was laid out at the crest of the cemetery. The cross beam measures 200 feet, the other member extends 250 feet. The cross symbolizes Johnny's mission to spread the Gospel through the wilderness.
(c)—Evergreens were planted in a pattern to form the initials" J. C." meaning John Chapman.
The present physical appearance is very good.
Page 3 of 94
8. SIGNIFICANCE
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
* The book Johnny Appleseed, Man And Myth listed at Item 9 Major Bibliographical. Referrences is the culmination of his research extending over a quarter of a century. The Library Of Congress awarded him a grant-in-aid to finish the book published in 1954.* Man And Myth: " No one had dreamed--------------- -the strange appleseed planter would leap into an amazing public popularity to become one of America’s half dozen favorite folk heroes." end of quote.
Appleseed continues to be one of the best known folk heroes in the Middle West, in fact, nationally. A spot check during five weeks in 1965 indicated visitors to the Johnny Appleseed Grave area as being from 32 States. A new Johnny Appleseed Commemorative postage stamp, the first in folklore series, was issued in 1966.
APPLESEED'S CONNECTION WITH FORT WAYNE
With the headwaters of the Atlantic and Gulf drainages being only four feet apart, the Fort Wayne portage was one of the most famous land links in the Old Northwest. John Chapman( Johnny Appleseed ) started moving in the 1820' s toward this focal point at the Fort Wayne summit. When the first spadeful of earth was turned for the Wabash-Erie canal in 1832, Chapman had extended his enterprises to Fort Wayne,Indiana. For the last twenty years of his life, he was to swing back and forth along this divide and Fort Wayne had now become the western end of the long axis about which the remainder of his life was to revolve.
Chapman purchased four parcels of land in Allen County, Ind., near Fort Wayne. On one parcel, in Milan Township, he established one of the most extensive nursery plantings. At the time of his death, fifteen thousand seedlings were growing there. Another nursery, in addition to the four parcels purchased, tradition has placed on the west side of the St. Joseph river about three miles up from Fort Wayne on land originally owned by David Archer. It also being in a thrifty condition. Near this nursery, was the cabin of Mr. & Mrs Worth who were Chaman's first acquaintances and were his friends. It was here at this cabin where Appleseed stayed much of the( Continued to Form 10-300a ) Page 5 of 94
(Significance- Continued from Form 10-300. )
time while in this vicinity and where he died in 1845. The Worth cabin with friends, the nursery and Archer cemetery all within a radius of approximately one half mile.
The Fort Wayne Sentinel of March 22,1845, upon Chapman’s death,stated: " The deceased was well known through this region------—. He followed the occupation of a nurseryman and had been aregular visitor here upwards of twenty years.” end of quote.
* Man And Myth: ” We buried him respectably,” said Richard Worth in 1858, ” in David Archer's grave yard, two and a half miles north of Fort Wayne.” end of quote.
* Man And Myth: ” The Archer family burial lot was located on a sandy knoll a few rods west of the river a short distance south of the general locations attributed to the Chapman nursery and Worth's cabin------,” end of quote.
Chapman was buried here because of his final illness and death at the Worth cabin amongst his friends and because of his long association with others in this area.
* Man And Myth: ” Johnny Appleseed Memorial Park, together with the Johnny Appleseed Memorial Bridge over the St. Joseph, closeby, was dedicated May 21, 1949, and now constitutes the most extensive memorial to John Chapman—end of quote.
There is no other site in the State so closely associated with John Chapman's productive life as it is here in Fort Wayne.
The two acre sandy knoll lying within the 11.34 acre Johnny Appleseed Memorial Park is the apex of the park. It has been considered the ideal area and focal point for many years for memorializing Johnny Appleseed and his good deeds. The placement of a few items of significance now on the knoll, regardless of the place in the nation of his activity during his life until death, has already served as visual education for visitors to the site. Their comments have been most complimentary. It is for this purpose and reason, this site is being nominated for entry into the National Register. [Received Dec 12 1972]
Form contains several black and white photographs, maps, Johnny Appleseed source book by Robert C. Harris that appeared in the Old Fort News Vol. IX, Nos. 1-2, March - June 1945, page 82 discusses gift of land by Mr. and Mrs. William T. McKay for Johnny Appleseed Memorial Park October 20, 1947, and references.
Found almost 100 Johnny Appleseed newspaper articles published in old historical newspapers. Some were printed multiple times as newspapers of the 19th and early 20th century sometimes had daily and weekly versions publishing the same stories. There was a daily Dawson News, Journal, Gazette, News, and Sentinel. For over 100 years we had both The Journal Gazette newspaper and The News-Sentinel newspaper first published as a weekly paper in 1833 which ceased publication April 23, 2020.
A May 4, 1916 newspaper article stated: Probably the most nearly authentic account of John Chapman and his work is found in the Historic Annals of Ohio, pubished by the Ohio Archeological and Historical society in 1861.
Johnny Appleseed, Fort Wayne, IN Old Fort News Vol. 9, Issue 1-2 (Mar 1945) ACPL Call #: 977.201 Al5hsd
John Chapman-Johnny Appleseed bur. place Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly Vol. 52, Issue 2 (Apr 1943) ACPL Call #: 977.1 Oh3. See Ohio Historical Journal articles above.
John Chapman-Johnny Appleseed bur. place Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Quarterly Vol. 52, Issue 3 (Jul 1943) ACPL Call #: 977.1 Oh3
Johnny Appleseed tribute, 1871, IN Settlers' Broadside Vol. 30, Issue 1 (Fal 2005) ACPL Call #: 977.201 Al5hsaa
Personal acquaintance of Johnny Appleseed recollections, his desire for a 10-12-year-old bride, 1898, Allen County Lines Vol. 40, Issue 1 (Sep 2015) ACPL Call #: 977.201 AL5acgw
Worth family and John Chapman-Johnny Appleseed burial, IN Old Fort News Vol. 66, Issue 1 (2003) ACPL Call #: 977.201 Al5hsd
John Chapman aka Johnny Appleseed biography, 1770s-1845, IN Old Fort News Vol. 66, Issue 1 (2003) ACPL Call #: 977.201 Al5hsd
John Chapman aka Johnny Appleseed family research, Chapman Cemetery connection, 1774+ Washington Vol. 29, Issue 3 (Sep 2012) ACPL Call #: 977.101 W27ogs
Johnny Appleseed in the I Remember History online tour of Summit City history from the archives of The News-Sentinel newspaper states under the title Warning settlers of Indian activities:
By 1830, Johnny Appleseed had moved his base of operations to Indiana. The first real evidence of Johnny Appleseed's presence in Fort Wayne is from April and May of 1834. There are records of him paying $250 for two pieces of land along the Maumee River east of Fort Wayne.
John Dawson, a newspaper editor of that era, said John Chapman was in Fort Wayne as early as 1834.
Another historian said he was here in 1828 and planted a nursery on the west side of the St. Joseph River, north of Fort Wayne. Others say he visited here as early as 1822.
Fort Wayne appears to be the farthest west that John Chapman ever traveled. At least that's what we can prove from the land records and other such information.
Johnny Appleseed legends, however, have him visiting Daniel Boone in Kentucky and Abraham Lincoln in Illinois. One California woman claimed he planted the first apple orchards in her state.
In any event, by 1836, Johnny Appleseed had completed his move from Mansfield, Ohio, to Fort Wayne, and from that time on he considered himself a resident of Allen County.
Most believe Johnny Appleseed died March 12, 1845, and was buried on the mound in the old Archer family cemetery, where the memorial to him stands today. Obituary part legend... part truth
His death notice ran in the March 22, 1845, Fort Wayne Sentinel, as seen at right. It said, in part, "Died at an advanced age, Mr. John Chapman (better known as Johnny Appleseed). His death was quite sudden. We saw him on our streets only a day or two previous." John Chapman would have been 70 at the time.
Most agree Chapman died of a disease that newspaper editor Dawson called "the winter plague," which was probably a kind of pneumonia. Most also agree he died at the home of a Mr. Worth near the St. Joseph River.
Johnny Appleseed 'Rotarian Tramping through the wilderness of early America, he blazed a trail of selfless service. By James Cloyd Bowman, author and novelis; Rotarian, St. Petersburg, Fla. on page 30-31 of the April, 1957 The Rotarian.
Some of Johnny Appleseed's land still a farm by Nancy Vendrely in her Yesterdays column in the People insert was published May 21, 1996 in The Journal Gazette newspaper. Chester and Sally Green owned 40 acres of land owned by Johnny Appleseed his shed with foundation stones used to be on the Eel River Township farm. Not online, but should be on microfilm at The Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
At age 85, sculptor Hector Garcia wants to live long enough to make Fort Wayne’s first serious public work depicting John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. ... Garcia envisions a non-Disney-fied John Chapman in a four-by-four bronze relief plaque that could go on the wall at the entrance to Parkview Field. .... His other works include Little Turtle in Headwaters Park and Jesuit Priest where the city’s three rivers meet. Copied from Where’s Johnny? A sculptor wants to immortalize 'the real' Johnny Appleseed in downtown Fort Wayne by Ann Votaw published March 13, 2019 on Input Fort Wayne.
Johnny Appleseed: The facts and mythsHank Fincken portrays colorful, eccentric Johnny Appleseed at schools, festivals and special events.(Originally aired on Nov. 14, 2009) His real name was John Chapman. He probably died in 1845 in Allen County, where the largest city, Fort Wayne, now celebrates a popular Johnny Appleseed Festival every autumn. Did he wear a saucepan on his head, as depicted in Walt Disney cartoons? What were the facts, and what were the myths or embellishments, about the folk hero of the Indiana frontier known as Johnny Appleseed? To enlighten us, one of the country's foremost experts on Johnny Appleseed joins Nelson in studio. His guest is Indianapolis-based re-enactor and playwright Hank Fincken, who has spent decades researching Appleseed/Chapman. Hank portrays colorful, eccentric Johnny Appleseed at schools, festivals and special events. Posted May 20, 2017 in the Archives of Hoosier History Live podcast on Saturdays, noon to 1 p.m. ET on WICR 88.7 FM and an August 11, 2022 post on Facebook.
The Johnny Appleseed Educational Center and Museum 518 College Way, Urbana, Ohio holds the largest collection of memorabilia and written information about the life of John “Appleseed” Chapman in the world.
An interesting comment by Charlie Savage November 13, 2021 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook stated: Thanks for this group which I just stumbled across. I will contribute this fact re Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman) who definitely died in Fort Wayne but may not actually be buried in the old Archer family cemetery at the park by the Coliseum. There are lots of sanitized and feel-good myths about Chapman/Appleseed, but the real history is more interesting than what we were taught as children. He wasn’t selling/spreading apple seeds and seedlings that yielded wholesome fruit that pioneers ate to keep the doctor away, but rather an inedible strain that was only good for fermenting into hard cider. (Settlers called hard cider “applejack” - not sure how a kids’ cereal ended up with that name but it echoes the Disneyfication of Chapman). In short, he got famous for helping settlers get drunk. He was also kind of crazy. Best account I have seen is the apple chapter of “The Botany of Desire” by Michael Pollan. The novelist Tracy Chevalier, better known for “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” wrote a novel about the tough lives of settlers in this region (or northwest Ohio) in the early 19th Century before the Great Black Swamp was drained, called “At the Edge of the Orchard.” Alcoholism plays a major role and a character is a more realistic portrait of Chapman. In a comment he shared this article: The Real Johnny Appleseed Brought Apples—and Booze—to the American Frontier The apples John Chapman brought to the frontier were very different than today’s apples—and they weren’t meant to be eaten Natasha Geiling November 10, 2014 on Smithsonian Magazine.
Johnny Appleseed: The Man, the Myth, the American Story by City of Allen - ACTV Jul 16, 2015 one hour video on YouTube
Learn more about John Chapman, the frontier nurseryman who became the basis for folk legend Johnny Appleseed. Biographer Howard Means (Johnny Appleseed: The Man, the Myth, the American Story) explores the facts behind Chapman and the Johnny Appleseed mythology. It is the tale of two men — one real and one invented — the period in which they lived, how they have been used in our national story, and what they symbolize.
Mo Rocca on CBS News visited the Johnny Appleseed Festival published November 26, 2017 on CBS News Sunday Morning that starts with the festival then looks at modern apples and back and forth to the festival.
Johnny Appleseed: Man Behind the Legend by The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered May 27, 2020 on YouTubeUsually portrayed as a lanky man wearing a long-handled pot on his head and spreading apple seeds, the real Johnny Appleseed was a shrewd businessman and religious zealot who played an important role in U.S. westward expansion effort. The History Guy explores the reality underlying the character of American folklore. This is the forgotten history of the man, John Chapman, behind the legend of Johnny Appleseed. This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As very few images of the actual event are available in the Public Domain, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.
