On Monday, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced creation of the new Johnny Appleseed Historic Byway. The route connects historic, cultural, and scenic attractions in Richland and Ashland Counties.
In a press release, ODOT shared, “The Johnny Appleseed Historic Byway’s routes are State Route 39 from Loudonville, northwest through Perrysville and Lucas, and ending in Mansfield; and State Route 603 from Mifflin to Malabar Farm where it ends at State Route 95... The journey tells the story of John “Appleseed” Chapman who spent the vast majority of his adult life in and throughout north central Ohio, spreading the seeds of fruit, as well as faith, to Ohio’s early pioneers. Both routes pass by and through Appleseed’s land holdings, apple nursery sites, Native American villages and locations of important events in which Appleseed was involved during the War of 1812. The Johnny Appleseed Historic Byway’s vision statement is to “enhance all lives of those who pass this way.”
In celebration of the new Byway, we’re re-posting this story published on 1812Blockhouse last September, only two weeks after we began publication. In it, we referenced a story about a Mansfielder on the lookout for Chapman’s grave in Fort Wayne, Indiana:
Sharing her roots in north central Ohio, writer Tonya Prater recently set out to visit the grave of the iconic Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman) in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In a blog post entitled, “Photos of the Controversial Gravesite of Johnny Appleseed,” Prater shares photos and observations about a visit she made to a grave marker in a Fort Wayne public park.
If you have never visited the location, it’s a short, interesting, and visual introduction to Johnny’s purported resting place. Click here to read.
As for Prater, she authors a blog called “The Traveling Praters” that is well-read, as she explains: “The Traveling Praters receives over 45,000 page views each month and has a social media following of over 44,000. These numbers steadily increase each month. The Traveling Praters has also been featured by Nomadic Samuel as a Top 100 Travel Blog and by Rise Global as a Top 1K Travel Blog.”
