Schoolchildren at the New Philadelphia School, October 1925.
Courtesy of Gerald McWorter and Kate Williams McWorter
New Philadelphia is the first US town platted and legally registered by an African American. Free Frank McWorter, a formerly enslaved man from Kentucky, founded and legally registered the town in 1836. In addition, he purchased the freedom of 15 family members. In 1865, the town population hit its peak with as many as 100 residents. Thirty percent of town residents were Black. The rural community situated near the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers later declined when the railroad bypassed the community in 1869 and other communities developed nearby. Only one family remained on the town site in the 1950s. New Philadelphia disappeared as plows turned over the soil and buried any material remains left behind. New Philadelphia was not forgotten. Historical documents, oral histories, archeological research, and organizations have kept the town's story alive.
The site became a unit of the National Park Service in December 2022. The National Park Service is working in partnership with community stakeholders and existing site partners to plan the New Philadelphia National Historic Site. During this process, the site will continue to be stewarded and maintained by the New Philadelphia Association.
