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New
Philadelphia Town Site
295th Avenue
Pike County, Iowa
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The New Philadelphia Town Site is the original site of the now-vanished
town of New Philadelphia, Illinois. It was the first town in the United
States founded by an African-American. The founder of New Philadelphia
was Free Frank McWorter, a slave who was born in South Carolina and was
later moved to Kentucky. In Kentucky he operated a saltpeter mining and
production operation and taking on paying jobs on neighboring farms and
succeeded in accumulating enough to purchase freedom for himself, his
wife, and fourteen other members of his family. In 1830 Free Frank left
Kentucky for Pike County, Illinois.
In 1836 Free Frank petitioned the Illinois General
Assembly for the right to take a legal surname of McWorter, his former
owner’s name, to solidify the claims he had on land that he purchased.
In that same year he platted the town of New Philadelphia. The original
town plan consisted of 144 lots in a 12 x 12 square and including 22
named streets. The site Free Frank chose for New Philadelphia was
influenced by the proposed construction of an Illinois-Michigan canal
that had helped spur the establishment of a number of towns, including
nearby Barry. New Philadelphia developed as a town at a crossroads in
this agricultural area through the 1860s, with an active roadway
carrying agricultural products and other goods to the Mississippi River,
20 miles to the west. New Philadelphia was an integrated but segregated
town. Free Frank and his family developed their own farmstead the north
of town, raising crops and livestock. The town grew to approximately 160
people, 29 households, and several craftspeople and merchants by 1865.
Free Frank had witnessed that growth until his death in 1854 at the age
of 77 years, while Lucy lived to 99 years of age until her death in
1870. In 1869, the Hannibal and Naples Railroad bypassed the town,
encouraging commerce to move to nearby Barry. New Philadelphia rapidly
declined in population thereafter. In 1885 the town was legally
dissolved and the site reverted to farmland.
As the first town established by a free African American New
Philadelphia likely served as a stopping place for the "Underground
Railroad" of enslaved African Americans who were fleeing northward
from the oppression of southern plantations. The oral history of the
McWorter family describes a secret room in the cellar and trips by
Frank Jr. to Canada. Currently a collaborative project of
archaeologists, historians, and members of the local and descendant
communities is underway to research the social history of the town.
In 2005 New Philadelphia site was placed onto the National Register
of Historic Places and in 2008 it gained National Historic Landmark
status.
Visiting the
New Philadelphia Town Site
Visiting Hours
The New Philadelphia Town Site can be visited at any time.
Note: The site is a protected archeological area and other than
the small parking lot is restricted to authorized persons only.
There is no charge to visit the New Philadelphia
Town Site.
Location:
The
New Philadelphia Town Site
is located south and east of Barry. From downtown Barry go south to
Pratt Street and then east. After crossing IL-106 Pratt Street will turn
into 295th Avenue. Continue on this county road 2.5 miles to the New
Philadelphia Town Site.
 Learn more about the
Pike County
area.
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