Clever and Colorful! Upstate County Seals Tell Amazing Stories!

So each of New York State's 62 counties has an actual official county seal.  ever notice it?

Me neither.

The county seals are little pieces of official artwork that are supposed to highlight, in creative graphics, the history or strong points of their home county.  Some of them feature famous men, some highlight animals or agriculture, others may feature natural landmarks like mountains, lakes, or rivers.  A lot of work went into creating these colorful little county symbols.

But who notices them?  Probably nobody.

So in this gallery we took ten random Upstate New York counties and examine their county seals.  And guess what?  They are pretty cool!

Take a look at the symbolism and stories depicted on these seals.  They (for the most part) really nail it.  I mean, take Essex County for example.  Located high up in the Adirondacks.  Their county seal features mountains (Whiteface?), pine trees, and a blue lake.  Simple.  Plain.  Attractive.  And, oh so Essex County.

And one boring old county seal has stirred up a bit of a scandal!  You will read about it in the gallery.  Shocking!

If your county did not make this list, don't fret.  With dozens more the examine we will revisit this topic again and again over the next several months.

In the meantime, think about it.  If you were tasked with creating a simple, but to the point, seal for your county, say Broome or Erie or Saratoga for example, which characters and images would choose for decoration on the county seal?

It's a great little mind game and not as easy as you would think!