The Monkey Wrench

The Monkey Wrench is the first pattern in the scope and sequence of the Quilt Codes of the Underground Railroad. These quilt patterns are believed to have transmitted messages to those escaping slavery and to the Conductors who guided them to safety across the Mason-Dixon Line. The Monkey Wrench is said to have signaled people to gather the things they needed for the journey and get ready.

The name also carries a human story. Frederick Douglass was called “The Monkey Wrench” because he was instrumental in pulling groups together to make the dangerous escape from tyranny. This piece honors both the pattern and the people who risked everything to organize and guide others toward freedom.

Part of Brooke Remmert’s historical quilt art collection, it is a meaningful work for collectors of Underground Railroad art, quilt art, and Black history, and for anyone who wants art that reminds us how creativity can serve as both survival and resistance.