New Philadelphia is Illinois’ newest national park — now one of over 30 sites dedicated to Black history in the U.S.
CHAMPAIGN — Gerald McWorter — a professor in African American Studies at the University of Illinois — said he grew up hearing stories about his great-great-grandfather, Frank McWorter. “Free Frank,” a former slave who bought his own freedom, founded New Philadelphia, Illinois in 1836. The town was an incorporated town for fifty years — and