| 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.
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