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Drawing 1 - Layout of New Philadelphia in 1836

When Free Frank laid out New Philadelphia in 1836, he divided it into 144 lots on 20 city blocks. Each lot measured 60 feet by 120 feet. Free Frank's homestead was located just north of the town site.

Questions for Photo 1

1. When Free Frank laid out the town, he made Broad Way and Main Street 80 feet wide; other streets were 60 feet wide. Where do you think the main intersection in the town would have been?

2. Why do you think Free Frank McWorter made the two main streets so wide?

3. If you were planning on building a store or other commercial building, where do you think you would put it? Why?

4. Why do you think a narrow ribbon of open space divided each block into quarters? What purpose would that open space serve?

* The image on this screen is small and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a larger version of Drawing 1, but be aware that the file will take as much as 32 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.