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John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed, was born near Springfield, Massachusetts in approximately 1775.<ref>“Johnny Appleseed Was Known to Licking County Pioneers,” The Newark Advocate and American Tribune, August 18, 1952, 12 F.</ref> He is famous for planting apple orchards between Massachusetts and Indiana, and has become a folkloric legend to many. Johnny Appleseed is said to have visited Licking County many times and planted as many as ten or twelve orchards here.<ref>“Ron Shoup, “Licking County in Apple Blossom Time…,” The Newark Advocate, May 26, 1973, 3.</ref> Chapman is said to have planted orchards throughout the county, including one in Madison Township on what was then the Wilson tract,<ref>Minnie Hite Moody, “Johnny Appleseed Planted Here,” The Newark Advocate, March 11, 1964, 30.</ref> an orchard in Mary Ann Township, another orchard three miles east of Hanover, an orchard near Nashport, another just west of Granville on the second farm on the North side of the road heading to Alexandria, one on Columbus Rd. southwest of Granville, and another near Fallsburg.<ref>“Johnny Appleseed Was Known to Licking County Pioneers,” 12 F.</ref> One of the more famous Appleseed orchards is said to have been established on the farm of Isaac Stadden, one of the first white settlers of Licking County. However, there is some dispute as to the validity of this, as Isaac’s wife is reported to have claimed that she was the one who planted the orchard on their property with seeds she brought from Pennsylvania. Instead, the Stadden farm that may have contained the orchard could have been that of John Stadden, Isaac’s brother, whose farm was on the land that is now the site of the Dawes Arboretum.<ref>Shoup, “Licking County in Apple Blossom Time…,” 3.</ref> Although he’s most famous for planting apples, Johnny Appleseed is said to have also planted pear, cherry, plum, and quince trees.<ref>“Johnny Appleseed Was Known to Licking County Pioneers,” </ref> In addition to his botanical pursuits, John Chapman was also a missionary of sorts for the Swedenborgian movement, carrying religious tracts with him<ref>Moody, “Johnny Appleseed Planted Here,” 30..</ref> and adhering to a strict code of austerity and the denial of comfort as a means of displaying piety.<ref>Ruth Taylor, “Bear Fruit in Memory of Eccentric Pioneer,” The Newark Advocate, July 27, 1937, 5.</ref> After a short bout with pneumonia, Johnny Appleseed died at a cabin near Fort Wayne, Indiana in March of 1847.<ref>“Johnny Appleseed Was Known to Licking County Pioneers,” 12 F.</ref>
 
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