295th Avenue
Barry, Illinois
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.
Explore the nearby community of Barry
