Kennedy-King College and Washburne Culinary and Hospitality Institute in Chicago recently received 1,700 “historic and culturally significant” cookbooks from the Free Frank McWorter Family.

According to City Colleges of Chicago News, Abdul McWorter Alkalimat, the great-great-grandson of Free Frank McWorter, spoke on behalf of his sister Sandra and their family.

“We want to give the cookbooks to Kennedy-King College because Chicago has done so much for us, and it is where they will be put to good use and the recipes kept alive by the next generations,” McWorter Alkalimat said.

Sandra Rosalie McWorter Marsh, the great-great-granddaughter of Free Frank McWorter, has been collecting the cookbooks over several decades, with some dating back as far as the 1930s.

Frank McWorter had numerous accomplishments despite being born into slavery, according to the National Park Service. He founded the town of New Philadelphia, Illinois, after purchasing land there in 1830, starting a farm and saving money to free enslaved family members. This made him the first African American to found a town in the United States before the Civil War.

He spent about $14,000 buying freedoms for 16 family members, including his wife, Lucy, his children, and two grandchildren. That equates to hundreds of thousands of dollars today.

"It is extremely important to share with our students that Black culinary history has been a part of our collective history and often without acknowledgment,” Juan Salgado, City Colleges of Chicago chancellor, said. "These recipes will live on through our student chefs and we are thankful to Sandra and the McWorter family for their generous donation."

New Philadelphia, which is now part of Barry, Illinois, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and designated as a National Historic Landmark.