The Great Seal of the State of Vermont is the official seal of the U.S. state of

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, used to

emboss EMBOSS is a free open source software analysis package developed for the needs of the molecular biology and bioinformatics user community. The software automatically copes with data in a variety of formats and even allows transparent retrieval of ...

and authenticate official documents. It was designed by Ira Allen, brother of

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for ...

and one of the state's founders.

Great Seal

The seal, depicts a 14-branched

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

tree rising from the forest, with a grain sheaf above. The 14 branches symbolize the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of Kingdom of Great Britain, British Colony, colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fo ...

and Vermont as the 14th state admitted to the union. A cow on the right, representing Vermont's history of

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or ...

, also appears. On the top of the seal are wavy lines, possibly suggesting

cloud In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may co ...

s; on the bottom wavy lines suggest water. It is believed that the two sets of wavy lines might also suggest the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

and

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

, Vermont's east and west borders. The passage "Freedom & Unity"—Vermont's state motto—is centered below the state name. The motto is central to the Vermont ideal of balancing

personal freedom Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...

with the individual's responsibility to their community. The seal was first used by the government of the independent

Vermont Republic The Vermont Republic ( French: ''République du Vermont''), officially known at the time as the State of Vermont ( French: ''État du Vermont''), was an independent state in New England that existed from January 15, 1777, to March 4, 1791. The ...

as it existed prior to admission to the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. Intended for use to emboss official documents, the seal is not intended for decorative use, the single exception being a large version carved in hardwood and affixed to the Vermont Pavilion at the

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

. That seal was later used as a backdrop behind the podium in the Vermont State House Press Briefing Room, which is now the minority party's

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

room. The large wooden Great Seal of Vermont has been moved to the working offices of the governor of Vermont at

The Pavilion A pavilion is a type of building. Pavilion or Pavillion may also refer to: Places United States *Pavilion, New York, a town ** Pavilion (CDP), New York, census-designated place within the town *Pavillion, Wyoming, a town Canada *Pavilion, Brit ...

. A more naturalistic and colorful armorial representation of the elements of the seal can be seen in the

coat of arms of Vermont The coat of arms of Vermont is the official armorial bearings of the U.S. state of Vermont. Most of the elements found in the coat of arms originate in the Great Seal of Vermont designed by Ira Allen. Whereas the Great Seal of Vermont is repr ...

, which is found on the Vermont flag. It is also used on

letterhead A letterhead is the heading at the top of a sheet of letter paper (stationery). It consists of a name, address, logo or trademark, and sometimes a background pattern. Overview Many companies and individuals prefer to create a letterhead template ...

s and on signs marking state buildings, bridges, state's borders, and at Vermont welcome centers. By Vermont statute, the Great Seal of Vermont is the shared domain of the Vermont Secretary of State, the offices of the state governorship, and the legislative and judiciary branches of government. The original metal dies for the first seal of Vermont are stored at the Secretary of State's office at Redstone, a large red brick and sandstone Queen Anne style house at Montpelier.

Seals of the government of Vermont

There are various seals of the state government. Most use the

. File:Seal of the State Treasurer of Vermont.svg, Seal of the State Treasurer of Vermont File:Seal of the State Auditor of Vermont.svg, Seal of the State Auditor of Vermont

References

External links

More information about the state seal
{{Vermont

Symbols of Vermont

Great Seal

Seals of the government of Vermont

See also

References

Further reading

External links