Top 10 Hobo Signs: Decoding Secret Symbols from the Great Depression! 

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What I have always heard was: A hobo moves around looking for work. A tramp moves around avoiding work. A bum neither moves nor works.

My grandmother had a picnic table, and a sink in the backyard so you could wash up. She always had a giant pot of soup/stew going that was refilled from the garden and the leftovers from dinner each night. Anybody who was hungry was welcomed at grandmas backyard table. My dad said the hobos had her house marked in someway because they always stopped to eat. It was during the great depression and many people needed a hand.

My Father grew up on Rosedale, in Kansas City, next to Turkey Ck. and the railroad tracks. Said the side of their fence facing the tracks had symbols on it. They had a horse, a milk cow and a mess of chickens. During the Great Depression hobos would always be stopping in and my GrandMother would put them to work ( mostly splittin' firewood ) to one, see if they'd work (not a bum) and two, allow the man to retain his pride and dignity by working for a meal, not accepting a handout. Being from 🇮🇪 Ireland she knew how important pride was. After they'd worked for awhile she'd bring them out a bowl of soup as well as a sandwich, cut in half and wrapped in newspaper, so they could save half for the next day. Far as i know, they Never had even a chicken go missing. A different time . . .

During the depression my dear sweet grandma set a pie on the windowsill to cool. It disappeared. She got the train schedule and every time a train came to town she would bake extra pies and leave them on the sill to cool. I wonder what symbol was used for her? Thanks James, interesting stuff!

My mother went to live with her gradmother during the great depresion. A man knocked and asked if he could do any work for a meal. He split some fire wood. He was given some sandwiches. Mum was then sent to give him sandwiches to take with him. He thanked my mum and said he had not eaten in 3 days, and he was trying to get money to send to his wife and children. Also my grandfather said in the great depresion there was plenty of food and goods, but no money. He also said another depression would come with money but nothing to buy. How true this was. During covid i recieved double unemployment but shelves at supermarkets were empty. No idea how my grandfather could predict this 90 years before it happened.

I think you're the only one on YT doing hobo history. As a historian with a degree in American history all of this is interesting. To some it might represent minutia but to me, who likes to delve deep into the roots of American history, it's a pearl of information. Thanks for doing this.

Dad owned a apple orchard up in Washington from the 60's till his death in 2022, learned the difference between Hobo's, Tramps & bums (you skipped over Winos). When I was 13 IIRC, we had a Hobo picking apples for us, real nice guy. I noticed some cravings on the outside of the pickers cabins, I asked Dad about it, he told me to ask the guy who did it (Hobo). So I did. Basically he was giving us a 5-star review. We got a Work For Food (we'd give our workers stuff out of the garden, some canned goods (chili, beans, etc) bread, small jar of PB, jam, eggs when they showed up, not uncommon they hadn't eaten in days. Then a Kind/Good Men. Work Available. Good Water. And Good/Safe Campsite. I even helped him pack up his roll when he left at the end of harvest. And this was around 1977, he was 73-74, but in good health, said it was his last trip that far north. Dad had a good idea what those marks were, but wanted me to learn from a real Hobo.

My dairy has tracks bordering property and been passed down 100 years. There is several symbols changed over the years I noticed. I remember as a kid coming out to the barn and it was common to find someone sleeping in the hay barn. Or filling their jug with milk . Some would want work others just needed out of the rain. Now days it less and less any want to work and just steal. All the people I remember growing up don't come around anymore. Sad but good memories.

The railroad tracks were behind the barn, a short walk through the woods. Men would approach the house, looking for work and grandma would assign chores. Mom said it wasn't uncommon to have two or three strangers join them for supper. After they ate, they would pile straw in one of the empty stalls. Next morning... they would be gone.

From this old person, thank you for keeping some of the old ways alive. God bless you

I'm an old man and grew up near the tracks and had railroad workers in the family. As a boy I remember the bo's as we called them and the old railroad pensioners , they taught me many things that helped me survive to this day. Thank you so much for bringing back these memories. My Grandfather road the rails during the Depression.

My Irish immigrant Grandad came to the US at age 12 alone during the late 1800's. His trip over as a stowaway is a story in itself... However, he got a job as a break man, swinging a red kerosene lantern from the caboose, to let the engineer know everyone, or everything was off, and they could leave. His train went from NYC to Buffalo NY. Catching Hobos & bums was part of his job... He told stories about the difference between bums and hobos. I think coming from a poor Irish family, and going thru a lot to get to America, made him more sympathetic to their plight. He got to know a few guys, and would ensure they were fed, and safe for the 30+ hour train ride. He gave them his food, and allowed them to ride inside the caboose with him during winter. He was a kind man, and worked hard on a farm on his days off. My Grandma would pack extra for them. This video about the signs they used is REALLY interesting! {I wonder if there were signs left on Grandads caboose}!

Hobo was a great name to hear on your 2way radio especially if we're a downed air man during the Vietnam war, those men were life savers !!!

My grandpa showed me a bunch of the signs he knew from his hobo days around 1910 to 1915. It was the highlight of my day to hear him and an old black man called "spitully" talk about the days gone by and the different way the black and white "jungle" was organized. Spitully said he still never trusted white folk, even kids as they could be the worst. I'd set on the riverbank while they fished for hours and listen. Thank you for jogging this old papaw's memory

About twenty years ago I lived for a time in an older house in Tempe Arizona that was a block away from the railroad tracks. Shortly after moving in I noticed that discreetly penciled on the door frame of the front door were three circles in a row, each with an x inside. As it happened I was studying at the ASU campus nearby, and several weeks before had just read an article about hobo symbols as part of my graduate studies. It was both surprising and exciting to discover such a real world example of what had previously seemed a rather abstract topic. The markings of course meant that the previous resident of that house had been a kind person, a soft touch, someone good for a handout. Ever since then I have looked for such markings when I go someplace new.

We all love the hobo series please keep the knowledge and shows coming thank you!

I was a teenage run away; bad home. So I became a homeless hobo for a while. Hated drugs and alcohol and stayed away from those that did them. Traveling, sleeping here or there and usually but not always found enough to eat out of the garbage or hunted small game, rabbit, squirrel turkey, quail and quail eggs, water out of the creeks for boiling in an aluminum pot I found. Quart size, metal and wood handle. Carried my spoon, knife, and fork. Had many ways of starting fire for cooking food, boiling water, and warmth. I would bury the red hot coals underneath the dirt. Heat would keep me warm most of the night. Ahhh, life. When you grow up in the 70’s with unloving, uncaring, selfish, hateful parents you run away and try to make things better for yourself and or others around you. And try and surround yourself with positive loving caring people. You make the best of things as you can. And someone told me once...forgive.....always forgive those that sin against you or hurt you. Love your neighbor as yourself and always love and obey God. I tried to remember that when at times I was hungry and found nothing to eat...do not steal...would come to mind. He wrote His law in my heart. The next day or so I would find food or whatever the need may have been. I learn to cope I learn to deal and work with what I had available at the time. So I know if and when things go bad again in my heart I’m prepared and I know exactly what to do to survive and thrive. If you need to get right with God, submit their forward to him resist the devil and the devil will flee from you. Read. Obey. Trust. And never forget to Love.

Thank you for your excellent video. My grandfather worked for UP, living directly next to the tracks. My mother used to tell stories about the Hobos that she dealt with. One sign they used, was an empty pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes which, always seemed to be on the pile of railroad ties. It signified to others that Grandma would give them a bowl of soup. In the Depression, that was a big deal. Thanks again for the video.

Apparently, my great grandma Roxie was always feeding hobos and giving them little jobs. My great grandpa Archie had to put his foot down. He would get home from work, and there would be some random guy there. They were poor too. They lived in an old barn they fixed up (before that, a tent). He had enough kids to feed. He found hobo markings he had to paint over or scratch out or something. They were awesome people. I wish I could have known them. Roxie had a sister that could roll a cigarette while driving a tractor. Old school Kansas people.

When I was a child playing on the RR tracks, I used to see these symbols and wonder what they meant. It was kind of like seeing Indian sign language in a cave, with a little imagination. Thanks for the info. I helped out a homeless man a while back. He was telling me about the life, how many thieves lived in the homeless shelter. I helped him out and when I see stuff like this I hope he found a place to stay and thrive.

The story goes that during the depression, my grandmother on my mom’s side had a hobo do some chores in exchange for feeding him. Afterwards she caught him leaving hobo signs on the sidewalk, and chewed him out and ran him off. They lived close to the railroad yards and I Guess she didn’t want an endless stream of vagabonds coming to get fed.

Thanks, James, for the lesson on "hobo hieroglyphics." This series has been very educational, and the way you have explained the way of the hobo reminds me of the saying,"broke is a financial state, but poor is a mental state. " I appreciate all the videos you put out. Keep 'em coming 👍

I love your videos. My daddy rode the railroad when going around the country looking for work he was born in 1927. And he had a few good friends who he would travel with. They were great stories ❤

An interesting movie about hobos is Emperor of the North. Ernest Borgnine's character was absolutely brutal.

My grandparents house backed up to the main train track in their small rural town. Up until WWII, they had a lot of hobos visiting them to do work for food. My grandma always had small jobs for them, cleaning downspouts, mowing their lawn, and she fed them really well. When a group of them would visit, she gave them a bigger job-move the outhouse, clean the gutters on the 2nd floor, prune the fruit trees. They would be given a proper farm dinner, and they always got any leftovers. However, when the ‘gypsies’ (sorry for the slur, I don’t know what else to call them) came, she licked up the house, drew the curtains, and locked my mom and uncle in a big wardrobe. Of course, my mom and uncle would sneak out, and my mom learned how to do tarot and read tea leaves from them. What a life, huh?

This is American social history I bet they'd never teach in schools yet it's important knowledge.

I never knew about the hobo cemeteries something that totally I took me by surprise on railroad property

As a kid I remember seeing these symbols on our gate post. My grandmother could be counted on for a sandwich or two.

ive seen these type of symbols over here in the uk! usually in chalk (or sometimes marker!) on trees, walls and paths... more than likely not hobo markings but similar, only seen a few times in big cities and towns. (uk doesnt have hobo's as such to my knowledge!) usually they were near groups of working homeless folks (they have actual paid jobs but are homeless) usually nice folks too, very helpful 😊 the drunks and riff raff tend to avoid these places entirely. 😊 ive always liked this form of signalling... imagine the use in a shtf situation where a group of folks know the signs and meet together at a central point after travelling seperately (for security and safety reasons) the uses are so flexible. i know when i was in the cubs/scouts we had to learn what i'd call "ground signalling" where you would leave signs very similar to the hobo ones on the ground with whatever was nearby... wonder if they are linked? these vids are so interesting 😊 keep them coming 😁🎉🎉

So we, much like every where else, have an indigent population. Recently I gave a young women a few things to help her on her journey. The next day drawn in chalk I noticed a cross on the cross beam of my porch. Warmed my heart

My grandmother was very familiar with some of these signs since she often was a source of food for hobo and poor travelers.

I have taken this RU-vid channel seriously due to what's happening in Europe, Russia, and The Middle East. Please, everybody, take this show seriously too and learn as much as you can.

My brother Spud was a knight of the road ,rode the steel ribbon EVERYWHERE , had friends all over the nation , may he rest well .

You mention the slamming boxcar door. My uncle was trapped for three days in a boxcar when this happened to him. He learned to put his pocket knife in the door track so it couldn't completely shut. Also to sleep on the top of the rail car he said he would put his belt through the walkway so as not to fall off. Once that was done he would pull his cap over his face to keep out the cinders from the engine. These techniques I am sure he was taught by older , more experienced Ho-Bos.

After reading some O'Henry, I fell in love with Hobo lore. It would be great to get a film on Hobos, if there aren't any. You would be a great producer on such a project, Good job,

I remember my Granddad telling me about them in the early 70's. He worked for Southern Pacific, out of Reno, as a brakeman and conductor, might have been an engineer as well. Was always fascinated by his stories. Great video!!!

I had an uncle who rode the rails to the gold mines of Northern Ontario from the midwest. Crazy stories he had… One of the greatest movies depicting that time was Emperor of the North. Book read recommendation Ten Lost Years 1929-1939

I had two Great Grandfathers do a little hoboing way back in the day. One Great Grandfather did a little hoboing until he had an accident. He was ran over by one of the steel wheels of a rail car. They where able to reattach his leg which was shorter afterwards. The other Great Grandfather was so taken by the town of El Reno Oklahoma he named my Grandmother after the town with a slight spelling difference, Elrena.

The Hobo series has been fascinating. A great uncle of mine was a hobo. I never knew very much about him.

Hobo Time! I Love Learning About The Riders Of The Rails. Thanks James 👍

I knew if I kept mentioning the symbols you'd do an episode on it! I knew most of these from an American autobiography of a hobo travelling salesman. He didn't like tramps or bums like most hobos. Soon as you drew the circle with the arrows I said get out now! The symbols change cause I've seen others that ment kind people live here aka work a few hours for food and a bed or sometimes just food given here which was a fork and spoon but those seem to be newer symbols, also crossed utensils ment no food here when cross used to mean good or yes and circle bad or no. Thanks as always for the video. Love hearing about these great people.

Back in the 50’s there was a wooded area off Kirk avenue that was called Hobo jungle. You would find empty food cans and what was left of camp fires. This was in Baltimore Maryland 😮

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. I would love to see more on this topic.

this one was fun, i need a hat with the symbols for "nothing to gain here, angry man" lol

You could open a Hobo museum.

Yes!! Another installment in the hobo series!!! Absolutely fascinating James! Thank you very much for sharing this! God bless and take care my friend!!

I actually used one of these symbols for an area that I have camped once. I go back from time to time and I can tell when someone has been there. Thanks for the video series. ✌️👍

Thank you for posting this video- it brought back some good memories. My late Uncle Ray rode the rails regularly until he passed away in the late 1960s from tuberculosis.

Oh my goodness I would have never made it. WOW no way anyone would let you do some work around your home these days. Thank you Brother James. I Love your teachings.😊❤

-The way things are going. A lot of people are going to need to know these signs soon.

I remember as a kid in the 70s there were still a good amount of hobos

The HOBO seriers keeps on getting better and better! Thank you James for the effort you expend on this important part of history to life.

Gypsies did something similar when they left town . 'Patrins' is the word for this . They left markers for family to follow .

King of the Hobos that every year they would meet at a certain spot and elect the King. He told me of these symbols and about the life. He told me of a hobo sandwich they would make. It was made from a loaf of bread and a can of bean. If it was a long loaf, they would cut the end off, to use as a cork. They would dig out the first half of the loaf for their first meal. Their second meal was to dig out the rest of the bread. The next day they would open a can of beans and pour them in the sandwich. They would cut off chunks to eat for meals. Sometimes it would last a week. They always made sure to keep that end of the bread they cut off to cork up the sandwich so they wouldn't lose their precious beans.

Hobo Shoestring would approve of your video.

Thank you for the serious side of Hobology 😊 I have been to Britt Iowa With my good friend Redbird Express several times Since Redbird caught the westbound this Year this note is to grapevine the info To Sunrise and Virginia Slim Penny Pincher and Flatcar Frank Redbird was a true King of the Dream and Road Regards fron Tinker Da Thinker and Bike Week Hobo and Spike 🚲🌴✌️👌

My mom told stories of my grandmother feeding the odd transient hobo here in Canada during the Great Depression. These folks were said to be polite and looking for work. They tended to get a sandwich and ate it on the back porch.

So much wondeful history of hobos ❤ I'm excited for each new video! 😍

Circa 1950s, lived near Santa Fe rail yards in San Bernardino. Family often helped those in need, and symbols like those were in neighborhood. Never any trouble from those old hobos and their stories fascinated me. Thank you for documenting their history.

I had a grandfather and a great-grandfather who were hobo's as younger men.

Thank you for the hobo education, sir.

Thanks for reminding today's world that hoboes were men of integrity who courageously faced the challenges in their day while maintaining a good work ethic in their endeavors to provide for their families. "Man looks upon the outward appearance, but God looks upon the heart." Generally speaking, I see the hobo as a person of Faith & Fortitude! I find it very interesting that, just as hobos had their communication symbols, when early Christianity was under persecution, believers often used the symbol of the FISH to identify themselves & their faith. Thank you, James, & may God bless you & yours.

My grandparents lived by the tracks and raised 7 kids during the Great Depression. My grandparents would feed them for menial jobs in the yard such as repair work to the shed/ chicken house when needed. They knew they were marked, but could not find any symbols close to the property. The hobos disappeared around 1940 when the economy got better. 4 generations of my family lived in that house. Me and my brother played around the tracks and never found anyone riding the trains like the hobos in the 1960s except a few hippies that got stupid and got injured or dead.

You are such a legend mate. Something tells me that the skills that you teach might come in handy for many of us over the next decade. All the best to you Sir.

I just love the style of the man’s fedora hat. My Dad wore one when I was growing up 50’s-60’s. I hope they make a comeback one day.

Oh the old Wellington Cipher. The Wellington Cipher, a lesser-known historical encryption method, was named after Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington. Used in the early 19th century, this cipher was employed during the Napoleonic Wars for secure military communications. The cipher itself hasn't been in use for around 100 years, largely due to advancements in cryptographic techniques and technology.

Hobo signs is a topic that has interested me for a long time. Here in Sweden we had our own culture of hobos and they also used hobo signs. The interesting thing is that many of the symbols in the USA and Sweden are the same.

Love the Hobo series. Back in the 50s in the 1st grade I was asked what I wanted to be, Hobo. Life of freedom. Ended up doing 40+ years as a LEO. Ironic.

Thanks for the amazing history and video of the hobo symbols. Keep up the great work and God Bless.

Fantastic videos as always, James! Thanks for the info! As a traveler myself, I take in all this great information and apply it to my own modern kit.

Love the hobo history, appreciate it.

Very educational. Thank You, James.

Thanks, James - I've been waiting and hoping for this one!

My precious grandmother lived on Route 66 in NE Oklahoma for many decades. Hobos, those hard-times travelers on the nearby rails who were looking to work for a meal, marked her picket fence with the four straight lines and shovels. I recall seeing the old gate well, decades later. SHE WAS A GREAT COOK with a big garden and livestock, such a generous soul. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMPASSION and THESE GREAT MEMORIES.

Thanks for sharing this with us and the people who remember these people are disappearing daily and not many left of them.

Glad for this video! Been waiting for more hobo symbols! Thanks.

We had two hobows hung from the second story balcony of the hotel on Kilrow St. Ya, interesting name for that street. They took advantage of a young girl, no trial, just hung. Some of those marks were on the old train station in the borough. The one with the two arrows and the circle, police and judge. They were eched into the bricks on the southern and northern ends of the station. The only marks left are on the concrete posts north of the borough

A friend of mine grew up in a small town, next to the R.R. tracks, in Ohio. He said hobos/bums often cane to their back door. His Mom would tell them to sit on tge steps and she'd give the food out the back door. And if she had extra food , some to take, 😊 they were slways polite to her and thankful!! She was a very caring person!

Awesome video James, enjoyed it as always! God Bless Sir.

Appreciate the great video. It’s amazing how well the signs are able to communicate the important information about the location and environment for a transient working hobo.

Very interesting - quite similar to the 'gypsy'-signs used here in Europe. The meaning of a cross is the same, but a circle most of the time ment money and a fence getting arrested. They were common until the 1970s and I used them to keep them off my door. Thanks for sharing.

My grandparents had a place on the RR tracks near a siding. About a quarter of a mile from there was a "jungle" and they often had hobos come by.

Cool video. I have looked up hobo signs for a project once and found them fascinating. For a while in the early days of wi-fi it was common for people to put a symbol in front of benches that were within reach of a free signal. I always thought of that as a sort of modern-day hobo sign.

I have a friend of mine who has the nickname Hobo, he was a nuclear grade welder who helped build Grand Gulf nuclear power plant. He's been a great mentor in torch/welding etiquette many years ago.

is super cool the way simple signs and symbols can say so much if you know how to read them; and for those who played skyrim the thieves guild use signs called shadowmarks pretty much the same way

I knew an old timer truck driver who showed me hand signals they would show in their windshield to other truckers, like warning of an accident, or a cop, which side of the road and how far away.

Very informative indeed. I’ll have to research more of these symbols as I think with the way how things are going in the world it’ll be important down the line.

This is interesting. My Grandma that was born in 1917 would tell of putting a red handkerchief on the door handle so gentlemen knew they could get a meal there that day.

Fantastic........ Waiting for the series A day in the life of a hobo, or adventures of a Hobo

There's an old family story from the depression era in my family from a town near Alexandria, MN. A hobo came to the farm once and got a meal for doing a few chores. Over the next several weeks more hobos came looking for chores for a meal (the meal was given, but the chores that needed to be done were less and less). Hobos did frequently walk on the tracks near their farm, but this hadn't really happened before so it became suspicious for my great grandfather. He eventually went down to the tracks and found some symbols in the gravel which included an X and an 8 (is what is remembered). He destroyed the symbols and never saw another hobo again. I think this is the first time that I am getting a clue as to what the symbol meanings precisely were.

Armona ca. fruit packing plant. We traded canned food for old knives or books. Loved the summer. Learned to play guitar and harmonica at the old camp from mellow old fellows. Grandma would tell her friends that she would put 2 cans of beans on the front porch for me. It got rid of me for the rest of the day. Life was so much better back then. We always had plenty to do.

James if you haven't read it check out " dairy of a Welsh swagman" it's the dairy of a hobo from Wales who travelled to Australia way back in 1869. Wonderful book detailing all the hard time and the work the man William Evans did during his stay in Aus. Another wonderful video thank for posting.

I think I’ll put the ill tempered man symbol outside my door 😂😂😂😂😂

In the 1990s I worked in a pizza parlor in Flushing, NY, and we had a regular hobo customer who was always neat, always gentlemanly. He wore a vest and suit jacket, carried a walking stick that happened to have a decent sized bindle at the end. The gentleman told me that his reason was just that he had the need to be moving on and he didn't enjoy being indoors. I totally respected that man. He flitted about Flushing for a week or so longer and would come in every day for a slice or just a coffee, and we had a restroom he could use. Then after that week or so he moved on. And I always wondered about him and how was he doing.

Just got the time to watch. Thanks for the mention . Me and several others still use the old codes but we recently the last several years developed a whole new list pertaining to more modern stuff.

I like this channel because I was the kind of person who had a low opinion of Hobos till I saw videos like this one .

Good stuff as always my friend!

I know a bunch of hobos. Through my travels i have encountered many. I have traversed The US mexico and Canada and those guys are the greats.

My mom who was a young girl in the Depression remembered having hoboes up to the house and fixing them sandwiches. Her family was poor, but gave what they had, and said the guys were very nice and appropriate.