| Great Seal of the State of Oregon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Armiger | State of Oregon |
| Adopted | February 14, 1859 |
| Motto | "The Union" established in 1957 "She Flies With Her Own Wings" established in 1987 |
Theseal of the State of Oregon is theofficial seal of theU.S. state ofOregon. It was designed by Harvey Gordon in 1857, two years before Oregon wasadmitted to the Union. The seal was preceded by the Salmon Seal of the Provisional Government and the Seal of theOregon Territory. The state seal is mandated by Article VI of theOregon Constitution.[1]
.jpg)
The first seal for Oregon was during theProvisional Government that ran from 1843 to 1849. That government used the Salmon Seal, a round seal featuring three sheaves of grain and a single salmon.[2] The salmon was at the bottom, with Oregon along the top. The salmon was designed to symbolize the fishing industry and the grain to represent agriculture. Designed to be neutral concerning theOregon Question and whether the U.S. or Britain would ultimately control the region, the seal was used until theOregon Territory was created and the territorial government arrived in 1849.[2]
With the arrival of GovernorJoseph Lane in 1849 the territorial government took control of the region.[2] That year the government adopted a new seal featuring a motto and a variety of motifs. In the center was a sailing vessel used to represent commerce, and above that was a beaver to symbolize thefur trade that was prominent in Oregon's early recorded history.[2] On the left of the ship was a Native American and on the right an eagle. Above the beaver on a banner was the Latin motto,Alis Volat Propriis, translated as "She flies with her own wings".[2] Around the perimeter were five stars at the bottom and the words "Seal of the Territory of Oregon" along the top and sides.
In 1857, theOregon Constitutional Convention was held in the capital ofSalem where the delegates drafted a constitution to prepare for statehood and adopted a new seal to be used once statehood was achieved.[2] The convention appointed Benjamin F. Burch,LaFayette Grover, andJames K. Kelly to design a new seal.[3] A proposal for a seal from Harvey Gordon was used with the addition of an elk added by the committee.[4] Usage began after Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859, and the number of stars was increased to 33 from the original 32 by theOregon Legislative Assembly (Minnesota became a state in 1858).[3]
Whereas the existence of an Oregon state seal is written intoOregon's state constitution, the design of the seal itself is dictated byOregon Revised Statute (ORS) chapter 186. The statutes list two laws pertaining to design and usage of the seal.[1]
According to ORS 186.020, the seal consists of an outer ring with the text "State ofOregon", "1859". The inner circle contains anAmerican eagle atop a shield. The shield depicts mountains, anelk, acovered wagon, and thePacific Ocean. In the ocean, aBritishman-of-war is departing and an Americansteamer is arriving, symbolizing the end ofBritish rule in theOregon Country.[4] The elk represents the plentiful game found in the state.[3] The second quartering shows asheaf, aplow, and apickaxe. These symbolize mining and husbandry.[3] The banner is inscribed "The Union". Thirty-three stars surrounding the shield represent the number ofstates upon Oregon's entry into the union in 1859.
The seal appears on the obverse of thestate flag of Oregon.
Salem (capital) | |||||||||
| Topics | |||||||||
| Society | |||||||||
| Regions |
| ||||||||
| Metro areas | |||||||||
| Largest cities (pop. >50,000) | |||||||||
| Counties | |||||||||
.svg)
