New Philadelphia

New Philadelphia, Illinois was one of the most famous of the antebellum all-black towns.  Founded by  Frank McWorter (1777-1854), a former Kentucky slave who purchased his freedom with his own earnings, New Philadelphia, Illinois was the first U. S. town to be registered by an African American prior to the Civil War.  Now covered by prairie farm fields, New Philadelphia was … [Read more...] about Thursday Open Thread: Free Black Communities