New Philadelphia, Illinois -
time team america

TIME TEAM AMERICA digs for the remains of the first American town founded by freed slaves. In 1836, "Free Frank" McWorter purchased his freedom from a Kentucky plantation owner and headed north. When he reached Illinois, he planted roots, started a town and sold enough property to buy the rest of his family out of slavery. A farmer's field now covers this dramatic testament to victory over enslavement. The local landowners and the McWorter family want to uncover what remains of New Philadelphia to memorialize its history and the history of their ancestors. TIME TEAM joins in the search for the remains of the schoolhouse where New Philadelphia's black children learned to read and write in freedom.

Episode Duration: 56 minutes and 46 seconds

Episode Number: 103

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About Time Team America:

This series puts viewers in the trenches to experience archaeology as it happens.

Each episode unleashes a group of archaeologists, landscape specialists, scientists, historians and other experts onto an American archeological dig site.

For three days, viewers follow the team as they work to solve the mysteries of the site with state of the art technology, visualization techniques and good old-fashioned archaeology.

Viewers eavesdrop on conversations between experts, see artifacts emerge from the ground and watch over the shoulders of archaeologists to experience the thrill of archaeology without ever having to pick up a trowel.