In the 1800s, as Johnny Appleseed traveled throughout the American Midwest and beyond, he must have been a strange sight. According to popular legends, Appleseed traveled barefoot, wearing a coffee sack for clothes and a metal pan for a hat. Despite his strange appearance, early settlers welcomed Appleseed because of the one thing he never traveled without. He went everywhere with a sack of apple seeds.

  How did Appleseed become fascinated with apples in the first place? He was born on September 26, 1774, in Massachusetts and was given the name John Chapman. He had 11 brothers and sisters and, undoubtedly, loved them. Yet Chapman would often escape to the peaceful woods surrounding the family farm.

  As a young man, he learned how to plant and successfully grow fruit trees. By 1812, planting apple orchards became his profession. He moved throughout America’s wilderness, planting apple trees as he traveled. Over the years, myths and legends about him grew, and people began calling Chapman “Johnny Appleseed.”