Video Clips
InteractNew Philly Photo Gallery
Incident Room
Dig Diaries
Drawing Free Frank
Colin Campbell describes the challenges of drawing a historical figure.
Aerial Archaeology
Read about Bryan's powered parachute flight over the site.
Rainy Days
Learn how Eric coped with the stormy weather that plagued the Time Team dig.
New Philadephia, Illinois
Buried beneath farmlands in Western Illinois, lie the remains of the first American town founded by a free African American — decades before the Civil War. The story of New Philadelphia is a little-known episode from our frontier past and a dramatic testament to victory over enslavement. Born into slavery, "Free Frank" McWorter bought freedom for himself and his family from a Kentucky plantation owner, beginning with his wife Lucy in 1817. In 1830, Frank, Lucy and four of their children headed North to Illinois. After they arrived, he planted roots, started a town, and sold enough property to purchase the rest of his family out of slavery. Eventually, New Philadelphia became a thriving, multi-racial community which endured until well after the Civil War. The local landowners, descendants of the town's residents and the McWorter family want to uncover what remains of New Philadelphia to commemorate its place in history. Time Team America was invited to join the research already in progress and to help search for the schoolhouse where New Philadelphia's African American children learned to read and write in freedom.
Why We Went There
A unique perspective on American frontier history.
Historical Background
Learn more about the story of Free Frank.