"Safe House" quilt

Some people think that a Log Cabin Quilt with a black center dates back to the Civil War. At first, I had heard that a Log Cabin with black centers meant that you are a bad housekeeper! Some believe that it meant "safe house" for runaway slaves, some are of the opinion that this theory doesn't hold water. The Log Cabin is one of my favorite quilt patterns and I keep a large plastic container full of 2 inch strips. Whenever a fabric is too small to use for other things, I cut into 2 inch strips. They are so useful for other patterns, too! I think I have mentioned before that I was born in central Ohio, and that my Grandpa Atterholt (during this time of the summer) used to tell me about how his family was part of the Underground Railroad. He was born just a couple of years after the war ended. It all makes sense to me, as the family was Brethren, and the Brethren were active during the war, helping runaway slaves get to freedom. I don't really care about the arguments in the quilt world. I just know that I'd like to believe the stories about the "signal quilts", and that somehow quilting played a roll in helping people to be free.