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Three years of research at the New Philadelphia site in western Illinois have provided the opportunity to integrate archaeological and documentary information to improve the understanding of family organization, economic patterns, and subsistence activities in this small, racially integrated, agrarian community. Analysis of the faunal remains recovered, and the study of available historical records, permit one to compare and contrast households within the town site, and to explore how the different regional backgrounds of the town's residents affected their livelihoods. Patterns of migration, regional origin, social organization, and intricate familial relationships are continuing to emerge even as new data are being collected. Because of its small size and its discrete and relatively recent existence, New Philadelphia presents a unique opportunity to study the entire history of a community in minute detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of agricultural practices around New Philadelphia, Illinois, and a comparison of these practices with those in the regions from whence the New Philadelphia residents came, tests the definitions of Upland South, Midland, and Northern (or Yankee) subsistence traditions. Using data from the U.S. census reports and agriculture schedules from 1840 and 1850, the choices of crops and livestock made by farmers in New York, Ohio, and Kentucky are compared to those made in the New Philadelphia community. Regional differences are found to have existed which influenced the farmers who lived in the area of that town in western Illinois. This study provides a firmer understanding of the subsistence and economic practices of the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]