Streator hears history of Underground Railroad quilts

“Sometimes a quilt is just a quilt, but other times, it has hidden messages that lead to freedom.”

That was Connie Martin’s message Tuesday while hosting “Pre-Civil War Quilts: Secret Codes to Freedom on the Underground Railroad” at the Streator Public Library showcasing the secret codes found in quilts used by abolitionists and freedom seekers to signal different messages and escape routes as part of the Underground Railroad.

The program, led by Martin, was dedicated to Juneteenth and featured multiple handcrafted quilt replicas that illustrated the patterns and special stitching techniques used to convey secret information to freedom seekers in the South during slavery.

Martin is the sixth generation of a slave and began her presentation by exploring her family tree. She shared stories passed down from her great-grandmother Lizzie about how her family endured the Antebellum period’s challenges and how they used these quilts with hidden codes and messages to assist abolitionists in guiding enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad to Canada.

Most people can’t believe it. Her story and the fact that there is so much background information on everything is just amazing.”

—  Pam Riss, program organizer

The secret patterns in the quilts signaled various types of information that freedom seekers used while traveling, including general warnings to messages that would give them a time to escape at night.

Martin’s program also is unique in that it is based on a book written by her mother, Clarice Boswell, called “Lizzie’s Story: A Slave Family’s Journey to Freedom.”

Pam Riss, the program organizer, shared that she had previously attended Martin’s program twice and recognized a local group of quilters had been working on Underground Railroad quilts for more than a year.

She believed bringing Martin to Streator would interest the public, especially given the reactions she had seen after the program.

“Most people can’t believe it,” Riss said. “Her story and the fact that there is so much background information on everything is just amazing.”

Riss also said these programs are good for fostering community interaction in Streator and praised the library’s staff, emphasizing that Martin’s program is just another great example of that.

“I would see her a fourth time if I had the chance,” Riss said with a laugh.