Full Description
New Philadelphia, Illinois was founded in 1836 by Frank McWorter, a Kentucky slave who purchased his own freedom and then acquired land on the prairie for establishing a new - and integrated - community. McWorter sold property to other freed slaves and to whites, and used the proceeds to buy his family out of slavery. The town population reached 160, but declined when the railroad bypassed it. By 1940 New Philadelphia had virtually disappeared from the landscape. In this book, Paul A. Shackel resurrects McWorter's great achievement of self-determinism, independence, and the will to exist. Shackel describes a cooperative effort by two universities, the state museum, the New Philadelphia Association, and numerous descendents to explore the history and archaeology of this unusual multi-racial community.
Contents
List of Figures and Tables Preface 1. The Settlement of New Philadelphia 2. Expansion and Decline 3. It Was Never Lost 4. From Grass Roots to a National Movement 5. The First Field Season 6. Race and the Illusion of Harmony 7. The Apple Festival and National Significance 8. Family Reunion and Division 9. Three Generations of Building and One Hundred Years of Living in New Philadelphia 10. A Case for Landmark Status 11. Some Thoughts, but Not the Final Word Appendix References Index
