The Muddled History of the Bear’s Paw

Most quilters are familiar with this block:

And most of us call it “Bear’s Paw.”  As quilt blocks go, it’s an advanced beginner/intermediate block.  The construction isn’t tricky, but some precision is required with those half-square triangles.  There is some debate about when this block actually developed, but quite a few quilt historians believe it began as a sawtooth border in early American quilts.  Sawtooth blocks such as the ones below

Appear in many early nineteenth-century quilts, arranged first in borders and then developed as their own blocks.  As time and creativity progressed, by 1823, we see the first “Bear’s Paw” block in Ohio.  Quilt historians believe the block was named “Bears Paw” due to all the stories about bears in that area of the United States.  The same block appears on Long Island, New York a few years later and it was called “Ducks-Foot-in-the-Mud.” 

I understand this name. I really do.  If you squint when you look at the block, it does kind of look like a duck’s muddy footprint.  However, when you trace the block further south, down into Pennsylvania, the Quakers who settled  this state, called the same block “Hand of Friendship.”  Side note:  I am in Guilford County, which was heavily settled by Quakers.  I’ve lived here over forty years and I’ve heard the block called both “Bear’s Paw” and “Hand of Friendship” pretty equally.  The block is also known as “Forest Path,” “Indian Trail,” “Irish Puzzle,” “North Wind,” and “Rambling Road.”  However, the moniker “Bear’s Paw” is the name which stuck and it’s the one most quilters are familiar with.  Electric Quilt 8 shows six versions of the block and Barbara Brackman’s Block Base has four, one of which looks suspiciously like a Churn Dash block. 

Like I said earlier, this isn’t a complex block with lots of small pieces.  It’s actually pretty easy to construct.  There are two techniques you really have to be careful about – the half square triangles and making sure all your block units are the correct size so everything lines up.  And it’s because of the block’s relative simplicity that, once basic construction is mastered, you can really spice things up.  Let’s talk about how to make a 12-inch finished Bear’s Paw and then we will play with some design options and talk bit more about the Block’s dubious history.

The basic “Bear’s Paw” block looks like this:

To make this version in a 12 ½-inch unfinished block (the size of the block before it’s sewn into a quilt) you will need:

From the background fabric cut:

Four 2 ¼-inch squares

Eight 2 ¾-inch squares (cut squares 3-inches if you want to make them larger and then trim to correct size)

Four 2-inch x 5 ¾-inch rectangles

From the “Paw” fabric cut:

Eight 2 ¾-inch squares (cut squares 3-inches if you want to make them larger and then trim to correct size)

Four 4-inch squares

From the center fabric cut:

One 2-inch square

Make the half-square triangles first, by drawing a diagonal line across the wrong side of one of the 2 ¾-inch squares.  Match one of 2 ¾-inch “Paw” fabric to a 2 ¾-inch background fabric, right sides together.  Sew a seam on both sides of the drawn diagonal line, ¼-inch away from the line.  Cut the square apart on the line and press the seam allowance towards the darker fabric.  Trim the half-square triangle to 2 ¼-inches.

You may also want to consider those four 4-inch squares.  In these directions, you’re cutting them as one square from a piece of fabric.  However, there’s nothing stopping you from making these squares a four-patch:

Or a half-square triangle:

Or even sewing strips of fabric together and cut those into 4-inch squares.

Honestly, the sky is the limit with that 4-inch space.  You could make a 4-inch block from nearly any pattern….or applique on that 4-inch space.  You’re only limited by your imagination!

Then assemble the block as shown above, making sure the triangles are all facing the correct direction. 

I must confess this is one of those blocks I have to lay out on my mini-design board before I start stitching everything together.  As sure as I don’t, one of my half-square triangles or paws will be pointing in the wrong direction.

This block makes a lovely quilt set in rows without sashing:

Or with sashing:

It takes on an entirely different look set on point:

Set on point, with setting squares and triangles:

Set on point with corner squares and sashing:

“Bear’s Paw” is an awesome block, no matter how it’s used.  I think I would feel comfortable piecing one as small as 8-inches, but for anything less, I would pull out the paper piecing.

Now that’s we’ve taken care of construction (or at least the way I would put the block together), let’s deal with this block’s dubious past.  In nearly every source I used for research with “Bear’s Paw,” it mentioned the block’s place in Underground Railroad Quilts. 

According to legend, the appearance of a Bear’s Paw quilt meant the runaway slaves were on the right track to freedom.  The sight of a Bear’s Paw block in a quilt could also mean that in order to find food, they would need to follow a bear’s trail by looking for bear scat (bear poop).  Along this trail, they would supposedly find enough berries, fresh water, etc., to sustain them until they arrived at the next Underground Railroad post. 

Along with Bear’s Paw, there were other quilt blocks which held secret meanings:

• The Monkey Wrench Block – According to folklore, this was the first block to appear in the open, and represented a freed African-American blacksmith who could travel between plantations and spread the word when it was time to leave.  It told folks to gather supplies and get ready.  When the block was hung outside, it meant the time was right for the escape.

• The Wagon Wheel Block or Carpenter’s Wheel Block – This block indicated a safe wagon or cart was on its way.

• Crossroads Block – This could be a symbol referring to Cleveland, Ohio, which was a main crossroad to freedom.  Leading out from Cleveland were several routes to free states.  This block could also mean reaching a turning point in one’s life – they needed to decide to escape or stay put.

• Bowtie Block – This meant it would be necessary to travel in disguise or to change from the clothing of a slave to a person of higher status.

• Shoofly Block – This block identified a person who could guide the slaves and help them escape along the Underground Railroad.

• Tumbling Blocks or Boxes Block – It was time to pack up and go because an Underground Railroad Conductor was in the area.

• Broken Dishes Block – This block symbolized broken crockery at some future landmark.

• Britches – This block meant the escaping slave should dress as a free person.

• Log Cabin – The Log Cabin – either the quilt block or drawn on the ground, indicated it was either necessary to seek shelter or that a person was safe to speak with.  Some sources even say it indicated a safe house along the Underground Railroad.

• Rose Wreath – This symbol indicated someone had died on the journey.

• Drunkard’s Path – Zig-zag as you go along – you may be stalked by hounds.

• Double Wedding Ring – This block meant it was now safe to remove chains and shackles.

• Flying Geese – This block was always pointed north to show the correct direction to head towards. 

All of the supposed symbolism the blocks carried with them was ignited by a book written by Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond Dobard, a journalist and art historian duo.  About 25 years ago, they wrote Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad. 

For the book, Tobin interviewed Ozella Williams, a South Carolina quilter who descended from enslaved people.  Williams recalled an oral history shared by her grandmother that explained enslaved people made quilt blocks with coded meanings to help guide escapees to freedom.  The story was appealing because as Sandra Daniel, an African American quilter and owner of the Country Barn Quilt Company in Augusta, GA, said, “…Those blocks actually gave slaves directions on how and when to leave and which route to take.”

This narrative, once it was out in the open, spread quickly.  The book sold well and everyone from teachers to quilters to historians embraced the book.  However, a disconcerting issue quickly popped up.

There was no evidence of such things as Underground Railroad quilts.  None.

According to Tracy Vaughn-Manley, a Black Studies Professor at Northwestern University and Black Quilt Historian, while there’s plenty of evidence enslaved people made utilitarian quilts from old clothing and scraps of fabric given to them by their enslavers, there is no evidence of Underground Railroad Quilts.  “Based on my research, and the research of highly regarded slave historians, there has been no evidence.  No letters, no notes, nothing that would signify quilts were used as codes,” Vaughn-Manley said in an interview with PBS. 

Quilt historian Laurel Horton agrees. “The history of quilts and slavery conditions contradict this code story.”  However, Horton is also a folklorist.  As a narrative, she recognizes the cultural significance of the codes.  “It’s appealing because it gives the idea of agency, that your ancestors had some way of dealing with their situation.”

Still other quilt historians, such as Mary Twining-Baird, vehemently disagree with both Vaughn-Manley and Horton.  “If people’s lives were at stake, then it stands to reason that there would be no trace of the quilts.  Of course there is no documentation! Literally if anyone found out they could lose their lives.” 

Hmmm.  This is a lot to unload with one simple quilt block – the Bear’s Paw. 

As with much of quilt history, what we have as record is the re-telling of oral histories which invariably either becomes lost to time or open to interpretation.  And this is one of those quilting history/mysteries I’ve mulled over for a while.  I can share with you what I think, and you are free to disagree with me in the comment section of my blog.

1. The Bear’s Paw as well as most of the quilt blocks recognized as codes do pre-date the Civil War, so they definitely would fit the time frame.  However, the outlier is the Double Wedding Ring.  It came into existence during the late 19^th century. 
2. Nowhere in all the literature and artifacts we have is there any scrap, mention, or drawing of an Underground Railroad Quilt.  If they existed, surely somewhere along the way, no matter how frightened or secretive people felt they had to be in order to survive, some sort of evidence should have remained.
3. When researching this blog, I was particularly interested in Harriet Tubman.  For me, it seemed if anyone would have utilized a quilt code, it would be her.  The Underground Railroad quilts would deliberately be understated, everyday items – literally hidden in plain sight.  They would raise no suspicions.  In my research, I asked if Harriet Tubman used these quilts.  The answer from the National Parks Service (who are involved in preserving some of Harriet’s routes) was a strong negative.  “No,” was their reply.  “The Underground Railroad code is a myth.”
4. This one is the clencher for me.  As stated before, I live in Guilford County.  Quakers, who were devout abolitionists, moved into this county around 1750.  Immediately they opened schools, churches, and businesses.  They also became an integral part of the Underground Railroad Movement.  Jamestown, the small town I am in, became a particular “hot bed” of the movement.  The Mendenhalls and other Quakers had possession of a Precious Cargo wagon (still carefully preserved) and many of the larger Quaker homes here had hidden rooms which served as a stopping place for enslaved persons escaping to freedom.*  With all the thoroughly preserved artifacts we have from the Quakers, with all the archives at Guilford College (a Quaker College), and in all the Quaker church histories we have, there is no mention of Underground Railroad quilts.  And I can’t help but feel that if those quilts were truly used, we would have some evidence of them. 

So no, I personally don’t believe Underground Railroad quilts ever existed. 

There you have it.  The long and muddled history of the Bear’s Paw block.  While its imaginary history may be just a bit more glamorous and adventuresome than its reality, it’s still a pretty block.  It’s not too hard to construct – just challenging enough to keep our half-square triangle skill set in place. 

Until Next Week, From My Studio to Yours,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

*It’s always interesting when the Guilford County Powers That Be decide to demolish an old Quaker home in the name of progress and more townhomes.  Many times in the process of the inspection prior to demolition, secret rooms are found which more than likely once hid runaway enslaved people. These stand as a true testament to the Quakers who fully lived out their faith on a day-to-day, real-life basis.