Part of a series of articles titled #TakeoverTheNetwork.
Article
New Philadelphia Town Site #TakeovertheNetwork
See what the New Philadelphia Association posted on the NPS Network to Freedom social media pages for their #TakeovertheNetwork day on September 13, 2022...
Feed Post 1: Introduction
Hello! We are New Philadelphia Association and today we #TakeoverTheNetwork!
September was a key month for the former slave known as Free Frank. #OnThisDay in 1819, Free Frank McWorter bought his freedom for $800 in Pulaski County, Kentucky. On September 17, 1836, this formerly enslaved man platted and legally registered the first town in the United States created by an African American. He named the town New Philadelphia. This historic town site sits just twenty miles from where the slave blocks of Hannibal, Missouri once stood, in Hadley Township, Pike County, Illinois.
New Philadelphia townspeople, led by the McWorter and Clark families, helped fleeing persons who were seeking their freedom along the road to Canada. For example, Free Frank’s son, Frank Jr., moved to Hadley Township in 1831. Frank Jr.'s experience with the Underground Railroad gave Frank Jr. the knowledge and connections needed to help lead freedom seekers from New Philadelphia to Canada.
In 2009, the site was designated a National Historic Landmark, and it was listed on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program in 2013.
Marynel Corton / New Philadelphia Association
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Feed Post 2
How do we know about the history of New Philadelphia? The McWorter descendants and local historians have written three books about it's history. Additionally much of the history of New Philadelphia comes from archaeological studies. In the early 2000s, several archaeological studies discovered a wealth of information about the community that lived at New Philadelphia Townsite.
There are also rich oral histories that come from descendants of New Philadelphia Townsite. Even after the town’s population continued to decline, the families who lived in New Philadelphia remained close. For example, the first photograph shared here depicts family reunion of New Philadelphia descendants from the Butler, McWorter, Walker, Washington, and Zimmerman families.
Many descendants continue to work hard to make sure that the history of New Philadelphia is not forgotten. The second photograph shows two such descendants – Sandra McWorter Morris and Sonny Burdick.
Image Courtesy of the McWorter Family
Marynel Corton / New Philadelphia Association
Feed Post 3
Today, New Philadelphia looks very different than it did in the 19th century. When you visit, you can enter a kiosk with several wayside exhibits that tell the story of New Philadelphia. You also can engage with an augmented reality program to bring the history of New Philadelphia to life. Professor Jon Amakawa has created a unique augmented reality tour which illustrates some of the New Philadelphia towns people and where they lived in town. The augmented reality app can be viewed either on the trail with full benefit or at the kiosk with the other informational boards. Similar technology is now being used at other historic sites in Illinois but New Philadelphia was a pioneer in using this technology.
The towns people included a doctor, blacksmiths, a stagecoach stop manager, Civil War soldiers, a baptist minister, and several postmasters. This powerful place means so much to so many people.
To our community the town site symbolizes what the desire for freedom and safety for one's family and others can create on the Illinois prairie. From an intergrated frontier town to an Underground Railroad stop, New Philadelphia makes Pike County proud of their ties to this history. As great great grandson, Gerald McWorter has put it "because New Philadelphia was possible, so a real America may yet be possible.”
Marynel Corton / New Philadelphia Association
Reel: About New Philadelphia Townsite
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- Duration:
- 26.093 seconds
Learn more about New Philadelphia Townsite and Free Frank McWorter's impact on the United States. This reel was shared as part of #TakeoverTheNetwork - a social media takeover by the Network to Freedom.
Last updated: September 13, 2022