Undergraduate Capstone Project

New Philadelphia was founded in 1836 in Pike County, Illinois, by “Free” Frank McWorter. It was the first town in the United States to be platted and legally registered by an African American. Frank McWorter, born enslaved, was in a unique position to be able to buy his own and his family’s freedom through decades of hard work. His legacy lives on at New Philadelphia, and though the town has long since vanished, it is honored today as the newest unit of the National Park Service with the designation of National Historic Site. The townsite is also honored as part of the NPS Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, as a National Historic Landmark, and the townsite and Frank McWorter’s gravesite are on the National Register of Historic Places. 

This history’s significance has been recognized and remembered, but how it has been remembered, and how it will be remembered in future generations, is a matter of debate. Various interpretations over the years have taken opposing positions on how the site should be cared for and how the story should be told, causing conflict among stakeholders. Common narratives tend to exaggerate certain aspects or events and favor one extreme or the other, fixating either on beauty and harmony or adversity and strife. On both ends of the spectrum, historical evidence is misinterpreted and misused—or ignored entirely. This paper analyzes what secondary source authors, McWorter descendants, and community members have said and uses primary sources, textbooks, and other scholarship to argue that the sensationalized story being told is not the factual and well-rounded history that should be represented at this site in its future as a National Historic Site.  

I gathered and consulted well over sixty sources in the development stages of this project. Primary sources including maps and plat books, railroad company meeting minutes, legal documents, and personal letters contributed to my foundational understanding of the topic. I used these sources in conversation with secondary sources. Primary source evidence aided in challenging accepted secondary source claims, some of which I was able to disprove or discredit. 

The purpose of this project was to voice an alternative perspective on the care and memory of the historic site of New Philadelphia as it develops under the National Park Service. I presented on this research at the Inaugural Freedom Corridor Conference at Illinois College in February 2024 as the featured presentation where I emphasized appropriate options for remembering a legendary story such as that of the McWorter Family and New Philadelphia. I have also been accepted to present at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in California in April 2024. I plan to continue to present on my research as it develops. I intend to follow this project through the coming years alongside the growth of the site and to continue my research on how best to preserve and interpret this site and its history. 

If you would like more information about my research or would like a copy of my paper or bibliography, please feel free to contact me. I am happy to discuss my methods, findings, and purpose with you further.