This tree is a descendant of the last surviving Rambo apple tree planted in Nova, Ohio, around 1840 by John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. Born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on September 26, 1774, Chapman pursued what he saw as the betterment of man by seeking harmony between man and nature in keeping with his religious beliefs. In 1793, he set out in a canoe to plant apple tree orchards intended to provide food for settlers and pioneers traveling westward during the expansion era. Each orchard offered a tree or two for farmers to take home and plant, and payment was accepted but never required. Ashland County, Ohio, was a favorite place for Chapman because his sister lived there. At a farm in Nova, he slept in a small outbuilding, refusing to sleep indoors, and planted an orchard of his favorite Rambo apple trees. One of those trees still grows and produces fruit as of 2018, although a storm in the spring of 1996 nearly toppled it.
