Oregon State Seal

Great Seal of the State of Oregon

Adopted in 1859.

The state seal consists of an escutcheon, or shield, supported by 33 stars and divided by an ordinary, or ribbon, with the inscription "The Union." Above the ordinary are the mountains and forests of Oregon, an elk with branching antlers, a covered wagon and ox team, the Pacific Ocean with setting sun, a departing British man-of-war signifying the departure of British influence in the region and an arriving American merchant ship signifying the rise of American power. Below the ordinary is a quartering with a shear of wheat, plow and pickax, which represent Oregon's mining and agricultural resources. The crest is the American Eagle/ Around the perimeter of the seal is the legend "State of Oregon, 1859." 

A resolution adopted by the Constitutional Convention in session on September 17, 1857, authorized the president to appoint a committee of three, Benjamin F. Burch, L. F. Grover and James K. Kelly to report on a proper device for the seal of the state of Oregon. Copy was submitted to the committee by Harvey Gordon, to which the committee recommended certain additions that are all incorporated in the state seal.