We’re working on sharing our thoughts on hobo signs, but academics like Nels Anderson rode the rails in the early 1900s for years and refuted the actuality of any signs. The symbols in the photos below were drawn onto a small model of an early-1930s American town.Įxactly Hunter. Two shovels - work available (shovels, because most hobos performed manual labour).A square with a slanted roof (signifying a house) with an X through it - the house has already been “burned” or “tricked” by another hobo.Three diagonal lines - not a safe place.A wavy line (signifying water) above an X - fresh water and a campsite.A cross with a smiley face in one of the corners - the doctor will treat hobos free of charge.A caduceus symbol - doctor living in the house.Two interlocked circles - handcuffs (i.e., hobos are jailed).A circle with two parallel arrows - get out fast, hobos aren’t welcome.A spearhead - a warning to defend yourself.

A square missing its top line - safe to camp in that spot.A triangle with hands - the homeowner has a gun.A cross - “angel food” (food served to hobos after a sermon).Translations for some commonly used signs: In the words of Susan Kare, who designed the original Macintosh icons, “This kind of symbol appeals to me because it had to be really simple, and clear to a group of people who were not going to be studying these for years in academia.” Hobo signs, from Symbol Sourcebook, by Henry Dreyfuss, via bLog-oMotives. Markings would be made on fences, buildings, trees, pavements - anywhere a message could signal help or trouble. If the farmer was generous, the hobo would mark the lane so other hobos would know it was a good place to beg.

Hobo signs displayed at the National Cryptologic Museum, Annapolis Junction.įinding food was a constant problem, and hobos often begged at farmhouses. They criss-crossed the country, usually by freight train, jumping into boxcars as trains pulled away from their stops or slowed at bends in the track. Of those, 250,000 were said to be teenagers - the economic collapse had destroyed everything in their young lives. The Great Depression (1929–1939) was when numbers were likely at their highest, as it forced an estimated 4,000,000 adults to leave their homes in search of food and lodging. Hobos were the nomadic workers who roamed the United States, taking jobs wherever they could, and never spending too long in any one place.

Fences app locked icons in place