New Philadelphia, Illinois was founded in 183. It was the first town in the United States registered and platted by an African American. Free Frank McWorter (1777-1854) was a former slave who saved money for his business to purchase the freedom of himself, his wife, and overtime, 13 members his family in Kentucky. The town was intergrated and reached a population of about 160 before the Civil War in 1865. The two declined after the Civil war due to the installation of a nearby railroad. The town was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 2005, and became a National Historic Landmark in 2009. In 2013, the site was added to the National Underground Rairload Network to Freedom. It was designated as a Natonal Historic Site in 2022.
NOTE--This informational blog is compiled by (with the exception of the introduction and photograph) and reprinted with permission from Abdul Akalimat, PhD.
Congress just acted and sent the legislation to Biden to sign next week!
This honors my great great grand parents who founded the town.
New Philadelphia, Illinois, is now a unit of the National Park Service -- like the Grand Canyon and the Abraham Lincoln Home and so many other places! The implementation will take about three years.
Thank you for all your support as we worked towards this goal. This recognition is a contribution to the grand narrative of Black history and to our nation's march toward freedom. It is a tribute to the legacy of Free Frank and Free Lucy McWorter and their family and community, and all who kept and enriched the memory: local activists and community members, descendants, archeologists and historians, elected officials and many more.
The legislation that just passed will be posted on the New Philadelphia website: http://newphiladelphiail.org/
Thank you again, and stay tuned for the next phase of New Philadelphia.
Abdul Alkalimat (Gerald McWorter)