A paved path leads up to a two-story brick house

New Philadelphia National Historic Site

Illinois

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Established in 2022, New Philadelphia National Historic Site preserves the townsite of the first known town planned and legally registered by an African American before the Civil War. Located in western Illinois, New Philadelphia was founded in 1836 by Frank McWorter, a formerly enslaved man from Kentucky who bought the freedom of himself and 15 family members. The rural community flourished at first, but later declined and dissolved in 1885.


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