{{short description|Official government emblem of the U.S, state of Maine}} {{Use American English|date=July 2022}} {{Infobox Coat of arms |name = Great Seal of Maine |image = Seal of Maine.svg |image_width = 200 |middle = |middle_width = |middle_caption = |lesser = |lesser_width = |lesser_caption = |image2 = |image2_width = |image2_caption = |image3 = |image3_width = |image3_caption = |armiger = State of Maine |year_adopted = June 15, 1820 |crest = |torse = |shield = |supporters = |compartment = |motto = '''''Dirigo''''' ([[Latin]]: "I direct" or "I lead") |orders = |other_elements = |earlier_versions = |use = }} {{Infobox Coat of arms |name = Coat of arms of Maine |image = Coat of arms of Maine.svg |image_width = 170 |middle = Maine state coat of arms (illustrated, 1876).jpg |middle_width = 170 |middle_caption = [[Historical armorial of U.S. states from 1876|Historical coat of arms]] (1876) |lesser = Ströhl-HA-LI-Fig. 17.png |lesser_width = 150 |lesser_caption = Coat of arms according to Ströhl, 1899 |image2 = |image2_width = |image2_caption = |image3 = |image3_width = |image3_caption = |armiger = State of Maine |year_adopted = June 9, 1820 |crest = A mullet (the North Star), shining Or |torse = |shield = Argent, charged with a pine tree (Americana, quinis ex uno folliculo setis) with a moose (cervus alces), at the foot of it, recumbent |supporters = On dexter side, a husbandman, resting on a scythe; on sinister side, a seaman, resting on an anchor |compartment = In the foreground, representing sea and land, and under the shield, the name of the State in large Roman capitals, to wit: MAINE |motto = '''''Dirigo''''' ([[Latin]]: "I direct" or "I lead") |orders = |other_elements = |earlier_versions = |use = }}
The '''Great Seal of the State of Maine''' was adopted in June 1820. The concept of the design is attributed to [[Benjamin Vaughan]] of [[Hallowell, Maine]],<ref name=AHGP>{{cite web |url=http://www.ahgp.org/maine/maine-state-seal.html |title=American History and Genealogy Project: The State Seal "Dirigo" |last=Axtman |first=Debbie |date=January 1, 2011 |website=www.ahgp.org |access-date=August 10, 2020 }}</ref> while the original sketch is credited to Bertha Smouse, the step-daughter of [[Isaac Reed (politician)|Col. Isaac Reed]] of [[Waldoboro, Maine]], who purportedly wrote its official description and explanation.<ref name=HERALDRY>{{cite web |url=https://www.americanheraldry.org/heraldry-in-the-usa/official-heraldry-in-the-united-states/arms-of-the-states/maine |title=The American Heraldy Society: Maine |last=McMillan |first=Joseph |date=August 10, 2020 |website=www.americanheraldry.org |access-date=August 10, 2020 }}</ref> There have been variations in the details of the seal, but the overall design and images remain true to the original. The center of the seal is a shield adorned with a tranquil scene of a moose resting in a field bordered by water and woods; a pine tree stands tall directly behind the moose. On either side of the shield, a farmer rests on his scythe, and a sailor leans on an anchor. Above the shield is the motto "Dirigo" (I direct) and a stylized North Star. Below the shield is a banner that reads "[[Maine]]". The legislature of 1919 decided that the design of the seal should no longer vary, and the design is still used today.
==Motto== ''[[wikt:en:dirigo#Latin|Dīrigō]]'' ([[Latin language|Latin]] "I direct" or "I lead") is the [[List of U.S. state mottos|state motto]] of [[Maine]], having once been the only state to hold its elections in September. (Politicians kept their eyes on these elections for evidence of a trend. Prior to the [[New Deal]], Republicans claimed "[[As Maine goes, so goes the nation]].")
The resolution adopting the seal upon which this motto appears gives insight into its meaning: "...as the [[Pole star|Polar Star]] has been considered the mariner's guide and director in conducting the ship over the pathless ocean to the desired haven, and as the center of magnetic attraction; as it has been figuratively used to denote the point, to which all affections turn, and as it is here intended to represent the State, it may be considered the citizens' guide, and the object to which the patriot's best exertions should be directed".
The motto and seal are used by the [[University of Maine]]. The motto was also used for the name of the [[Dirigo Health|Dirigo Health Agency]] which oversaw the state of Maine's [[health care]] system before the passage of the [[Affordable Care Act]].
==Design== As stated in Maine law, Title 1 Section 201: The seal of the State shall be a shield, argent, charged with a pine tree ({{lang|la|Americana, quinis ex uno folliculo setis}}) with a moose ({{lang|la|cervus alces}}), at the foot of it, recumbent; supporters: on dexter side, a husbandman, resting on a scythe; on sinister side, a seaman, resting on an anchor. In the foreground, representing sea and land, and under the shield, shall be the name of the State in large Roman capitals, to wit: MAINE. The whole shall be surrounded by a crest, the North Star. The motto, in small Roman capitals, shall be in a label interposed between the shield and crest, viz.: {{lang|la|DIRIGO}}.
Shortly after Maine became a state, the official state seal was adopted on June 9, 1820. Although "there are no records indicating how the motto was developed or selected",<ref name=PPH/> according to David Chever, former Maine State archivist and vice chairman of Maine's Bicentennial Committee, it is known that William Moody of [[Saco, Maine|Saco]], who was the first president of the Maine Senate, oversaw the process. Isaac Reed is credited with having written the description and explanation of the seal:
{{quote|"The motto, in small Roman capitals, shall be in a label (that reads) {{lang|la|DIRIGO}}." The label would be located between the star – "the mariner's guide ... over the pathless ocean to the desired haven" – and a shield featuring a moose, a pine tree, a farmer and a sailor.|Kelley Bouchard, ''Portland Press Herald'', quoting Reed<ref name=PPH>{{cite web |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2020/02/17/how-did-dirigo-become-maines-motto/ |title=How did Dirigo become Maine's motto? |last=Bouchard |first=Kelley |date=February 17, 2020 |website=Press Herald |access-date=August 10, 2020 }}</ref>}}
Although originally from Waldoboro, Massachusetts, Reed was opposed to Maine becoming a state. In April 1816, he moved his family into a Mansion on Glidden in [[Waldoboro, Maine]], historically named: the Reed Mansion.<ref name=SOUP>{{cite web |url=https://knox.villagesoup.com/p/the-reed-mansion-its-creator-and-his-family/1639411 |title=The Reed Mansion: Its creator and his family |last=Lawrence |first=Jean B. |date=April 8, 2017 |website=www.villagesoup.com|access-date=August 10, 2020 }}</ref>{{dead link|fix-attempted=yes<!--Redirects to the home page of a different domain-->|date=May 2026}} It was there that Reed and his step-daughter, Bertha Smouse, purportedly worked on the seal together.<ref name=SOUP/> It has been noted, however, how ironic Reed's involvement was at the time, since he campaigned fellow townsfolk to vote against Maine becoming a state.<ref name=PPH/> A 2005 National House Register application for the Reed Mansion states: "When sent by the town to the 1816 Constitutional Convention in Brunswick, Reed argued strongly against separation from Massachusetts, as he did again in Portland in 1819".
[[File:First Committee Proposed Maine State Seal Design.jpg|thumb|First State Seal design submitted to the Legislature sub-committee]] While the explanation of the seal is credited to Reed, the original first draft of the design is credited to Dr. Benjamin Vaughan from Hallowell, Maine. A distinguished doctor with degrees from [[Harvard University]] and [[Bowdoin College]], Vaughan's reputation as a learned man was well known. His private library alone was equal to the size of Harvard's.<ref name=VAUGHN>[https://maineanencyclopedia.com/vaughan-benjamin/ "Vaughn, Benjamin"]. ''Maine: An Encyclopedia''. August 10, 2020.</ref> Publishing numerous articles, Vaughan devoted his life to building mills, stores, printing-offices, breweries, and advocating toward the Settlement of Kennebec County. Drawing details from Reed's description, Vaughan submitted a preliminary sketch to the legislature sub-committee. The design was nearly unanimously rejected for various reasons: the moose looked "more like a deer", and one committee member complained that his initial desire that the aurora borealis and a quote from [[St. Paul]] was not included.<ref name=SUN>{{cite web |url=https://www.sunjournal.com/2020/06/09/on-this-date-in-maine-history-june-9/ |title=On this date in Maine history: June 9|last=Owen |first=Joseph |date=June 9, 2020 |website=Lewiston Sun Journal |access-date=August 10, 2020 }}</ref> Despite the fact that a state seal was needed for immediate use on official documents, according to historian William D. Williamson, "no part of it was very ingeniously wrought or executed; hence people of taste and judgment have not been altogether pleased with the devices, or emblems".<ref name=SUN/>
How it finally came to approval is unknown; but since that time, various stories, printed articles and even Maine towns have disputed authorship over the original sketch design. On June 12, 1820, The Portland Gazette reported: "We understand that the emblems for the seal of the State were proposed by Benjamin Vaughan, Esq. of Hallowell, that the sketch was executed by a young lady in this town, and that the Motto, description, explanation, &c are from the pen of Col. Isaac G. Reed, a member of the House of Representatives from Waldoborough."<ref name=MARTUCCI>{{cite web |url=http://www.vexman.net/flags/maine/armslaw.html |title=Maine State Symbols |last=Martucci |first=Dave |date=January 1, 1997 |website=Dave Martucci's Flag Pages |access-date=August 10, 2020 }}</ref>{{sps|date=May 2026}}
[[File:Original 1820 Maine State Seal sketch design.jpg|thumb|More commonly recognized Seal of Maine design]] However, in 2020, in celebration of Maine's bicentennial, a contest was announced in partnership with the Vaughan Woods & Historical Homestead that sought a modern interpretation of the original Maine state seal. The winning submission would be hung over the mantel in the Benjamin Vaughan Homestead dining room.<ref>[http://harlowgallery.org/maine-bicentennial-call-for-proposals-state-seal-modern-interpretation/#prettyPhoto "Maine Bicentennial: Call for Proposals – State Seal Modern Interpretation"]. Vaughan Woods Homestead. 2020.</ref><ref name=JOURNAL>{{cite web |url=https://www.sunjournal.com/2020/01/27/contest-seeks-modern-interpretation-of-original-maine-state-seal/ |title=Contest Seeks Modern Interpretation of Original Maine State Seal |date=January 27, 2020 |website=Lewiston Sun Journal|access-date=August 10, 2020 }}</ref> In the Sun Journal, Vaughan is quoted to have proposed the emblems, and one of his own daughters crudely fashioned the original sketch at their dining room table: "We are the most northern state in the Union, yet what is an ordinary star for all other states becomes the North Star for us."<ref name=JOURNAL/> Maine Historical Society Bicentennial Education Fellow, Brittany Cook, stated in a 2020 virtual hub, that the new state of Maine turned to a man named Vaughan to design the state seal, and his daughter is said to have sketched the first design.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhhIjPmi8AI "The Maine State Seal"]. Maine Historical Bicentennial Education Virtual Hub. Brittany Cook. April 30, 2020 – via YouTube.</ref>
Although Maine state historian Herb Adams also says that a sub-committee of the Maine legislature turned to Vaughan to design the seal,<ref name=MPBN>{{cite web |url=https://www.mainepublic.org/post/how-great-seal-state-maine-came-be |title=How The 'Great Seal Of The State Of Maine' Came To Be |last=Gratz |first=Irwin |date=June 9, 2020 |website=Maine Public |access-date=August 10, 2020 }}</ref> President of the Waldoboro Historical Society, Jean B. Lawrence, states that the step-daughter of Isaac Reed, Bertha Smouse, created the original design by stitching it in needlework.<ref>Jean B. Lawrence (March 14, 2020). [https://www.maine200.org/calendar/event/280 "Bertha Smouse’s Gift to Maine"]. Maine Bicentennial Calendar.</ref><ref name=CRW/> When referenced, Bertha Smouse is believed or credited as having created the state seal.<ref>[https://www.states101.com/flags/maine Maine: "State Flag"]. ''States101.com''. August 10, 2020.</ref>{{unreliable source|reason=No authorship info|date=May 2026}}<ref name=MSM>{{cite web |url =https://mainestatemuseum.org/exhibit/regional-struggle/statehood-achieved/ |publisher=Maine State Museum |title=Statehood Achieved |date=January 1, 2018 |access-date=August 10, 2020 |quote=Bertha Smouse of Thomaston is credited with drawing the first seal, based on Hallowell's Benjamin Vaughan's design}}</ref>
On March 26, 2020, the trustees of the Waldoborough Historical Society announced that they had been chosen to receive funding to erect a sign outside of the former site of the Reed Mansion in Waldoboro, Maine to commemorate the "1820 State Seal Visual gift of Bertha Smouse". According to Lawrence, a 17 year old Smouse created a "needlework visual" from a list of suggestions given by her father.<ref name=LCN>{{cite web |url=https://lcnme.com/announcements/waldoborough-historical-society-receives-bicentennial-grant-funding/ |title=Waldoborough Historical Society Receives Bicentennial Grant Funding |work=Lincoln County News |date=March 26, 2020 |access-date=August 10, 2020 }}</ref>
In 1930, the Maine Library Bulletin discovered that "it is generally conceded that (Reed) was the author of the detailed and somewhat flowery description of the (seal) and the symbols comprising it. It is said that the final sketch presented with the report (to the Legislature) was the work of Miss Bertha Smouse, a step-daughter of Colonel Reed". The bulletin went to reveal that no descendant of Reed's could confirm any family members' participation in designing the seal. According to the National Register application, "while (Bertha Smouse) could have had a hand in drawing the seal, there is no evidence to support this claim".<ref name=PPH/> In section 8, page 4 of the Registration Form received on June 22, 2005, to place the Reed Mansion on the National Register of Historic Places, the submitted claim for significance states: "It is said that the final sketch presented with the report, a parchment copy of which was placed in the office of the Secretary of State, was the work of Mss Bertha Smouse, a step-daughter of Colonel Reed. Bertha Smouse would have been between 16 and 20 years old at that time and while she could have had a hand in drawing the seal, there is no evidence to support this claim."<ref>[https://npgallery.nps.gov/nrhp/GetAsset?assetID=9f69b5ba-8e8d-4e0d-b617-a9b8b6cc2fa8 "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Reed Mansion"]. June 22, 2005. NPS Form 10-900 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service.</ref>
Currently, in the Maine state archives, attached to the original Maine legislation is the original sketch for the 1820 Official Coat of Arms;<ref name=MARTUCCI2>{{cite web |url=http://www.vexman.net/flags/maine/index.html |title=Maine State Symbols: Overview |last=Martucci |first=Dave |date=January 1, 1997 |website=Dave Martucci's Flag Pages |access-date=August 10, 2020 }}</ref>{{sps|date=May 2026}} however, there is no documented proof of authorship assigned to the drawing. According to Dave Martucci, the more recognized design was drawn in 1919; and attributed to illustrator Henry Gibson.<ref name=CRW>[https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-me.html "Maine (U.S.)"]. February 20, 2004. Joe McMillan. CRW Flags.</ref> The seal went through various stages of design through the 1800s; however, the initial elements described in 1820 remain.<ref name=SUN/>
The State of Maine first adopted its state flag in [[Flag of Maine (1901–09)|1901]]; which consisted of only a central pine tree with a blue star in the left corner on a neutral backdrop. In 1909, the state adopted a new [[Flag of Maine|flag]] design using the state seal on a navy blue backdrop.
== Other symbols of Maine== <gallery> File:Seal of the Governor of Maine.svg|[[Seals of the Governors of the U.S. States|Seal]] of the [[governor of Maine]] File:Seal of the State Planning Office of Maine.svg|Seal of the [[Maine State Planning Office]] File:Seal of the State Treasurer of Maine.svg|Seal of the Maine treasurer File:Seal of the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services.svg|Seal of the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services File:Seal of the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation.svg|Seal of the Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation File:Seal of the Maine Department of Public Safety.svg|Seal of the Maine Department of Public Safety File:Seal of the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety.svg|Seal of the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety File:Seal of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.svg|Seal of the Maine Department of Marine Resources File:Seal of the Maine Bureau of Veterans Services.svg|Seal of the Maine Bureau of Veterans Services </gallery>
==See also== *[[List of Maine state symbols]] *[[Flag of Maine]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.maine.gov/sos/stateseal/index.html The Great Seal of the State of Maine] {{US state coats of arms}} {{US_state_seals}} {{Maine}}
[[Category:Symbols of Maine]] [[Category:United States state seals|Maine]] [[Category:Coats of arms with trees|Maine]] [[Category:Coats of arms with moose|Maine]] [[Category:Coats of arms with sickles|Maine]] [[Category:Coats of arms with anchors|Maine]] [[Category:Coats of arms with stars|Maine]]