Nov 16, 2021 · Popularized in the late 1800s and early 1900s, hobo code supposedly consisted of distinctive symbols to communicate vital information. They alerted other transient workers to …

Nov 29, 2025 · Ahead, you’ll find 66 different hobo code symbols, along with how they looked and what they meant. We’ll also go over the hobo code of ethics and where these symbols …

Jul 22, 2024 · The "hobo code" was a secret, symbol-based system used by Depression-era itinerant workers to share information. The pictographic code included directional symbols, …

Aug 22, 2018 · Liv­ing such a lifestyle on the mar­gins of soci­ety demand­ed the mas­tery of cer­tain tech­niques as well as a body of secret knowl­edge, an aspect of the hey­day of hobodom …

Jan 25, 2015 · What follows are 60 of the most common hobo symbols, along with their translations and interpretations. Most of these are relics from the early 20th century, but some …

Apr 7, 2025 · The hobo code, a system of symbols used by itinerant workers during the Great Depression, still leaves its mark on American cities today. These symbols, often scribbled …

Because they were always entering new and unfamiliar places with unknown dangers, Hobos developed their own special code to communicate and warn each other of dangers and …

Aug 24, 2023 · Hobos scrawled the secret language with whatever writing implements were available—a lump of coal, chalk, a nail, or even a sharp-edged rock. It was a survival code.

From illegally jumping trains to stealing scraps from a farmers market, the hobo community needed to create a secret language to warn and welcome fellow hobos that were either new to …

Traveling from place to place, with no fixed address, no phone number, and few means of passing information, America’s hobo community created a code of symbols. The Hobo Code was a …