The deal with seals
California is turning 175 years old later this year. To mark the occasion, we will be looking at several aspects of the state seal, as well as the nation’s seal and those of other states.
The seal of a nation or state is used for authenticating documents of high importance or high ceremony issued in the name of the sovereign or the chief executive authority, such as the president or governor. The California seal has changed several times over the years. The most recent version, the full-color version, was accepted as official in 1978.
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The California State Capitol Museum tells the seal’s history:
“The Great Seal of the State of California was designed and approved at the 1849 Monterey Constitutional Convention. The complex imagery on the Great Seal serves as a snapshot in time, capturing some of the main issues facing the convention members. These included many activities and localities in the future state that were important to them – mining, farming and water transportation.
After the Constitutional Convention, the first set of seals were engraved, with further changes following over the next century. The Great Seal also includes two other state symbols: the grizzly bear and the state motto Eureka.”
The State Seal is stamped on official documents including California drivers’ licenses. It is on the badge for the California Highway Patrol.
If you look to the upper left you’ll see a tiny building in the distance. There is no official explanation as to what the building is and what it symbolizes. There are theories that it could be Fort Point in San Francisco as well as other urban legends that say it could be San Quentin Prison.
Sources: capitolmuseum.ca.gov, American Heritage Education Foundation.
