"Slaves used secret codes and messages in quilts to help each other find the way to freedom," said Susan E. Paul of Minersville, during her informative lecture held recently at the Tamaqua Public Library called "Quilting a Path to Freedom."
Paul, a graduate of Tamaqua High School and teacher by profession, talked about how slaves and members of the Underground Railroad would utilize sewing methods, hidden compartments and messages in quilts, which would communicate coded messages to slaves and helpers concerning what to do on the trip, what to wear and even where to go.
"A secret code was sometimes assigned a meaning to each quilt block," said Paul, who is also a member of the Schuylkill County Quilters Guild.
For example, if there are four square knots on the quilt every three inches apart, that meant they escaped on the fourth knot and went to a "coded" area, such as Ontario, Cana