Free Frank McWorter
BARRY, Ill. — The New Philadelphia Association signed over on May 7 the first tract of property at the townsite off County Road 2 to the National Park Service for inclusion into the New Philadelphia National Historic Site. Since the park’s establishment in late 2022, National Park Service officials have been working with members of…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Deep in the history of Pike County near Barry, Ill. is a site that was once a township named New Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, the town was the first platted and independently registered by a free African American before the Civil War. His name was Frank McWorter and he came from Kentucky…
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BARRY, Ill. — The New Philadelphia Association will celebrate the freedom of Free Frank McWorter, the first African American to plat and register a town in the United States in 1836, on Sept. 13. McWorter purchased his freedom and became Free Frank 202 years ago on Sept. 13, 1819. This event is part of the…
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