Covered Wagon in New Philadelphia - Pike County, IL
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 39° 41.857 W 090° 57.653
15S E 674830 N 4396184
A town bought, laid out, and built by a freed slave.
Waymark Code: WMK5F0
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 02/16/2014
Views: 5
County of wagon: Pike County
location of wagon: Country Road 2, New Philadelphia Site, 4 miles E. of Barry
Some history of the place:
"The town consisted of 144 lots laid out by a black man FREE FRANK MCWORTER. In 1819 he bought his freedom from slavery, and eventually freedom for 16 family members for $14,000. He was the first settler (1829) in Hadley Township. Free Frank was born in 1777 in South Carolina and died September 12, 1854. He is buried in the New Philadelphia cemetery ¼ mile southeast of this sign." - The New Philadelphia Association
You can read more about New Philadelphia or about Frank McWorter and the mixed race community that brought the wagon here.