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settlers crossing the Ohio River and constructing cabins in a fertile wilderness; fertile, maybe, but devoid of fruit trees. Legend says that he carried the word of the Bible and also carried apple seeds. Johnny planted nurseries by streams for the benefit of the settlers who would follow. Frontiersmen carried seed pouches he had given them, and with those seeds they planted orchards as far west as Iowa.
    Shortly after 1776, United Empire Loyalists arrived in Upper Canada with seeds and seedlings already acclimatized in North America. It was a Scottish immigrant, John McIntosh, who introduced a superior apple to Ontario. McIntosh had left New York State to settle in Dundela, Ontario, where he transplanted 20 wild-apple seedlings. His wife, Hannah, tended to the orchard with loving care, especially one particular tree. The grandchildren noticed this and called the fruit of this special tree “Granny’s apple.”
    Many of the apple varieties that the pioneers grew no longer exist. It was reported that in 1892 one could choose from more than 878 varieties of apples. For example, the Alexander apple was introduced into England from Russia in 1817. The Fameuse or Snow apple was grown in the Province of Quebec with seeds from France. The Golden Russett came from New York State. The Ontario (a Wagner and Spy cross) came from Paris, Ontario, and the early Transparent from St. Petersburg.
    In 1853, the average size of a farm in Brighton was 100 acres. Pioneer families raised cows and chickens and grew grain. Their apple orchards were usually located close to their buildings. Most of the yield from the orchard was used by the family. The apples that were dried over the kitchen stove were often taken to the general store and bartered for other goods.
    Brighton’s first settler was a United Empire Loyalist by the name of Obediah Simpson, who arrived there in 1796. There were other Loyalist families who followed him and many immigrants from the British Isles. They called their community Singleton’s Corners.
    When a road was built from York (Toronto) to Kingston in 1816, Singleton’s Corners began to grow. John Kemp opened the first store, and John Singleton took the job of postmaster for the locality. The name of the community was later changed to Brighton.
    By 1850 the first doctor arrived to serve the population of 500. A small schoolhouse was opened on Main Street and the first newspaper, the Brighton Sentinel , was published on February 23, 1853, by Alexander Begg, a settler from Scotland. One of the early issues of the paper contained a feature article on how to restore an old orchard. The writer recommended putting lime and manure around the trees and growing corn and potatoes under them. It also described how to prune to open up the centre of the apple tree and how to graft new varieties on existing trees.
    Two other papers would follow: the Brighton Weekly Flag in 1855 and the Brighton Ensign in 1870. Brighton was incorporated as a village on March 24, 1859.
    In 1853 H. Ganetsee established a commercial nursery, which had apple, cherry, and other fruit trees for sale. The first apple orchard, 3.2 kilometres (two miles) east of Brighton, was established with seeds brought from New York State in the early 1830s by Mr. John F. Sherman.
    John Sherman was a blacksmith by trade, and worked in the villages of Warkworth and Brighton until 1845, when he chose to settle on a farm east of Brighton and plant his first orchard. Frederick W. Sherman was the last member of that family to operate an orchard on the property. When he died in March 1964, the orchards were sold, and the land was used for other purposes.
    In the early days, Brighton needed a lawyer to oversee commerce. John Eyre was that ambitious man. Eyre assisted in founding the Union Agricultural Joint Stock Company at Clark’s Hotel in 1873 and served one term as a member of Parliament. Circa 1880, he built a magnificent three-storey Georgian house,