The New Philadelphia Archaeological Project (NSF-REU) is a fieldschool in archaeology, geosciences, and laboratory techniques, held at the town site of New Philadelphia, a 19th century multi-racial farming community in central Illinois. Ongoing field investigations at the site are led by Drs. Anna Agbe-Davies, Chris Fennell, and Terry Martin, with assistance by doctoral students Kathryn Fay, Annelise Morris, and Mary Kathryn Rocheford, historian Claire Martin, and geosciences professor Art Bettis. Chris Fennell provides this description of the 2011 field season, to be held May 23 to July 30, 2011.
Aerial view of the 42-acre New Philadelphia town site in 2005, with overlay of the boundaries of the town as platted. Photo courtesy of Dr. Tommy Hailey; overlay by Chris Fennell
New Philadelphia is nationally significant as the first town in the United States that was planned in advance and legally founded by an African American. Ethnic, racial, and commercial influences shaped the life history of the community, which started in 1836 and grew as a multi-racial town in the midst of a Midwest landscape marked by racial tensions. Local residents likely provided "safe house" service for the "Underground railroad" as enslaved African Americans fled northward escaping the oppression of southern plantations. The town's population reached its peak of about 160 people in 29 households after the Civil War. However, racial and corporate politics resulted in the death knell for the town -- regional transportation investors routed a new railroad line to bypass the community. Many of New Philadelphia's merchants and residents moved away and by the early 20th century only a few families remained (Fennell 2010; Shackel 2010; Walker 1983).
Frank McWorter, founder of New Philadelphia, Illinois. Sculpture by Shirley McWorter Moss on display at the Lincoln Presidential Library, Springfield
Photo courtesy of Sandra McWorter and Lincoln Pres. Library
New Philadelphia was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2009 based on its archaeological resources and exceptional historical importance. The Archaeological Conservancy now provides preservation and stewardship for several acres within the town site. Federal legislation is pending for a feasibility study of developing New Philadelphia into a national archaeological and historical park to convey its lessons to a broad public audience. Our research questions confront multiple social dynamics that impacted perspectives in the past and continue to influence the present. This project emphasizes the rewards of analyzing these subjects through interdisciplinary methods and active engagement with the perspectives of a diversity of stakeholders, including members of descendant and local communities.
Fieldschool students work in teams and excavate within town lots or work on excavations related to geoscience analysis of the landscape history of the community. This work will be based on historical research and the results of geophysical and geomorphological surveys, including a new LiDAR aerial laser survey to be completed in early 2011. Participants are trained in how to prepare a site for excavation, excavate according to stratigraphy or arbitrary levels, describe the sediments and soils, collect archaeobotanical samples, perform detailed note taking, collect accurate measurements, create scale drawings, learn field photography, and undertake mapping with a laser total station and a high resolution GPS receiver. Students are also involved in the processing of archaeological and geosciences data. They learn how to identify and catalog artifacts, faunal material, seeds and pollen, soils and sediments, and how to create an associated research catalog and database to be used in analyzing the significance of the evidence we have uncovered.
For additional details concerning the fieldschool, consult the 2011 New Philadelphia Fieldschool flyer.
More on New Philadelphia
- 2011 New Philadelphia NSF-REU Fieldschool
- New Philadelphia Archaeology Project
- Time Team America: New Philadelphia
More 2011 Fieldwork in Focus
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