New Philadelphia Town Site
Encyclopedia
The New Philadelphia Town Site is the original site of the now-vanished town of "New Philadelphia", Illinois
. It is located near the city of Barry
, in Pike County
. Founded in 1836, it was the first town in the United States platted and registered by an African American
before the American Civil War
. The founder Free Frank McWorter
was a former slave who was able to save money from work and his own business to purchase the freedom of his wife, himself and 13 members of his family in Kentucky
.
The town site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2005 and designated a National Historic Landmark
in 2009.
. The original town plan consisted of 144 lots in a 12 x 12 square, including 22 crisscrossing named streets. McWorter officially registered his town with government authorities and sold the lots. The town was integrated, albeit with some typical 19th-century segregated
facilities, such as cemeteries. There was one integrated public school.
McWorter lived there for the remainder of his life. He made brief visits to Kentucky to purchase freedom for much of the remainder of his family.
McWorter died in 1854. Before the Civil War, New Philadelphia had become one of the stations along the Underground Railroad
for shepherding escaped slaves to Canada. With Emancipation
, more settlers arrived in New Philadelphia. Its population peaked at close to 160 shortly after 1865.
In 1869, the Hannibal and Naples Railroad was built. It bypassed the town on the north; a station was built in nearby Barry
, soon to be followed by transit and commerce. New Philadelphia rapidly declined in population thereafter. A small number of residents turned to farming a portion of the former townsite. Such changes and abandonment were not unusual for U.S. small towns in the late 19th century, especially those bypassed by changing transportation facilities.
In 1885 a portion of the town was legally dissolved. It reverted to farmland. Modern archaeological studies have indicated the area was inhabited through the 1920s. By the late 20th century, all vestiges of New Philadelphia had vanished save fragments of glass
and pottery
, and traces of the town's gravel
streets.
The town site was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
on August 11, 2005; subsequently, New Philadelphia Town Site was designated a National Historic Landmark
on January 16, 2009 because of the significance of its history and archaeology.
In 1996, locals founded the New Philadelphia Association and approached archaeologists to survey the townsite.
In 2003, a three-year excavation began with a US$226,500 grant from the National Science Foundation
. It was coordinated by Dr. Paul A. Shackel
, the lead at University of Maryland, College Park
, with participation by scholars from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. By 2006, the archaeology team had surveyed 14 of the 144 lots.
In August 2005, the town site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2008, Christopher C. Fennell
of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
led the summer excavation team under a new grant.
In June 2008, the Public Broadcasting Service
filmed material at the dig, which was released as an episode of Time Team America
.
In January 2009 the town site was designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior.
In June 2010, Aaron Schock
, a US Representative from Illinois, introduced bipartisan legislation to direct the Department of Interior to study the New Philadelphia townsite for possible designation as a National Park. If approved, it would be the first such park in Illinois.
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. It is located near the city of Barry
Barry, Illinois
Barry is a city in Pike County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,368 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Barry is located at ....
, in Pike County
Pike County, Illinois
Pike County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 16,430, which is a decrease of 5.5% from 17,384 in 2000...
. Founded in 1836, it was the first town in the United States platted and registered by an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
before the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The founder Free Frank McWorter
Free Frank McWorter
Free Frank McWorter was an American slave who bought his own freedom and in 1836 founded the town of New Philadelphia in Illinois; he was the first black to found a town in the United States before the American Civil War...
was a former slave who was able to save money from work and his own business to purchase the freedom of his wife, himself and 13 members of his family in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
.
The town site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2005 and designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 2009.
History
Free Frank McWorter moved to Illinois in 1830 with his family and founded a town which he thought would benefit from the commerce along the planned Illinois and Michigan CanalIllinois and Michigan Canal
The Illinois and Michigan Canal ran from the Bridgeport neighborhood in Chicago on the Chicago River to LaSalle-Peru, Illinois, on the Illinois River. It was finished in 1848 when Chicago Mayor James Hutchinson Woodworth presided over its opening; and it allowed boat transportation from the Great...
. The original town plan consisted of 144 lots in a 12 x 12 square, including 22 crisscrossing named streets. McWorter officially registered his town with government authorities and sold the lots. The town was integrated, albeit with some typical 19th-century segregated
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
facilities, such as cemeteries. There was one integrated public school.
McWorter lived there for the remainder of his life. He made brief visits to Kentucky to purchase freedom for much of the remainder of his family.
McWorter died in 1854. Before the Civil War, New Philadelphia had become one of the stations along the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
for shepherding escaped slaves to Canada. With Emancipation
Emancipation
Emancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:* Emancipation , a champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse foaled in 1979...
, more settlers arrived in New Philadelphia. Its population peaked at close to 160 shortly after 1865.
In 1869, the Hannibal and Naples Railroad was built. It bypassed the town on the north; a station was built in nearby Barry
Barry, Illinois
Barry is a city in Pike County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,368 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Barry is located at ....
, soon to be followed by transit and commerce. New Philadelphia rapidly declined in population thereafter. A small number of residents turned to farming a portion of the former townsite. Such changes and abandonment were not unusual for U.S. small towns in the late 19th century, especially those bypassed by changing transportation facilities.
In 1885 a portion of the town was legally dissolved. It reverted to farmland. Modern archaeological studies have indicated the area was inhabited through the 1920s. By the late 20th century, all vestiges of New Philadelphia had vanished save fragments of glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
and pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
, and traces of the town's gravel
Construction Aggregate
Construction aggregate, or simply "aggregate", is a broad category of coarse particulate material used in construction, including sand, gravel, crushed stone, slag, recycled concrete and geosynthetic aggregates. Aggregates are the most mined material in the world...
streets.
The town site was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on August 11, 2005; subsequently, New Philadelphia Town Site was designated a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
on January 16, 2009 because of the significance of its history and archaeology.
Modern developments
In 1988, Larry and Natalie Armistead bought some of the land of the former town.In 1996, locals founded the New Philadelphia Association and approached archaeologists to survey the townsite.
In 2003, a three-year excavation began with a US$226,500 grant from the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
. It was coordinated by Dr. Paul A. Shackel
Paul A. Shackel
Paul A. Shackel is an American anthropologist and a Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maryland, College Park. He joined the Department of Anthropology in 1996 after working for the National Park Service for seven and a half years...
, the lead at University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
, with participation by scholars from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. By 2006, the archaeology team had surveyed 14 of the 144 lots.
In August 2005, the town site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2008, Christopher C. Fennell
Christopher C. Fennell
Christopher C. Fennell is an American anthropologist and lawyer, an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His first book Crossroads and Cosmologies: Diasporas and Ethnogenesis in the New World received the John L. Cotter Award from the Society of...
of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
led the summer excavation team under a new grant.
In June 2008, the Public Broadcasting Service
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
filmed material at the dig, which was released as an episode of Time Team America
Time Team America
Time Team America is an American television series that airs on PBS. It premiered on July 8, 2009. It is an Oregon Public Broadcasting adaptation of the British show Time Team, produced in collaboration with Channel 4 which commissioned the original show, in which a team of archeologists and other...
.
In January 2009 the town site was designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior.
In June 2010, Aaron Schock
Aaron Schock
Aaron Schock is the United States Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district is based in Peoria and includes part of Springfield. At the age of , Schock is currently the youngest U.S. representative and the first member of the U.S. Congress born...
, a US Representative from Illinois, introduced bipartisan legislation to direct the Department of Interior to study the New Philadelphia townsite for possible designation as a National Park. If approved, it would be the first such park in Illinois.
External links
- New Philadelphia Association
- Free Frank, New Philadelphia Historic Preservation Foundation
- Christopher C. Fennell, "Updates on New Philadelphia Archaeology Project", University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
- "New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier," Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan, National Park Service
- "New Philadelphia", PBS member station WILL-TV