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Home – American Heritage News – Great Seal of Virginia Turns 250

Great Seal of Virginia Turns 250

Virginians were busy 250 years ago this month. In Philadelphia, of course, Virginians were leading the 13 Colonies into the war that would free them from the British Empire. But others remained in Williamsburg, where the Virginia Convention was hard at work shaping what an independent state would look like.

It ratified the Virginia Declaration of Rights, adopted the first written Constitution of Virginia, and elected Patrick Henry as the Commonwealth’s first governor. The convention also created a state seal, which has lasted just as long as the Declaration of Independence itself.

George Wythe is credited as the leader of the committee that created the seal. He worked alongside other patriots, including George Mason, Richard Henry Lee, and Robert Carter Nicholas, to craft a timeless design. You’ve seen it on flags, driver’s licenses, and any official state document, because it is still in use today.

“The front, or obverse, of the Seal depicts Virtus, the Roman goddess of virtue, presented as the genius—the guiding spirit—of the Commonwealth. Dressed as an Amazon, she........

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