In 1831, Frank McWorter, a freed slave, bought a tract of land in Pike County, Illinois, to establish the town of New Philadelphia. By 1836, McWhorter had mapped out the town lots and registered it with the county. Soon it became an active, integrated, abolitionist town with a post office, a school, a store, one blacksmith, two shoemakers, and various farming families. The population reached 160 people in twenty-nine households, but like so many new towns on the frontier, it withered and, by about 1885, it disappeared.
In this engaging volume, Frank’s great-great-grandson and spouse, both professors at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, tell his story and that of New Philadelphia. They also tell the story of recent archaeological excavations at the town site by the Illinois State Museum, University of Illinois, and the University of Maryland, and new scholarly research about this unique community. It is a surviving example of one important aspect of the slavery experience that is little known.
Today, New Philadelphia is a National Historic Landmark and an archaeological preserve that is partially owned by The Archaeological Conservancy. The National Park Service is conducting a feasibility study to add it to the National Park system.
