Seal of Cecil County, Maryland

Seal of Cecil County
Armiger	Cecil County
Adopted	June 11, 1968 (1968-06-11)
Torse	CECIL COUNTY
Motto	1674

The seal of Cecil County was adopted in June 1968. Elements of the seal are featured on the design of the Cecil County flag, which was adopted in 1974.

History[]

Former seal of Cecil County, from the late 17th century.

The flag of Cecil County, featuring elements of the seal.

1674–1968: Former seal[]

The first seal of Cecil County was adopted in the late 17th century, during English colonial rule. Its design follows traditional English-style heraldic convention, with supporters in the form of leopards. Over time, it fell into obscurity and by the mid-20th century had become virtually forgotten and unknown to the point that even the county government did not know of its appearance or existence.^[1]

1968–present: Current seal[]

The current seal was adopted on June 11, 1968, by the county's Board of County Commissioners, now the County Council. The county's sheriff during the 1980s reportedly stated that it was designed by a high school sophomore in 1961.^[1] The seal is lozenge-shaped and features, written in Arabic numerals at the bottom, a motto bearing the year the county was founded, and in the center, two mallard ducks in flight over a shoreline.^[2][3] Some of the county's residents, particularly those involved in hunting, opposed the inclusion of mallard ducks, preferring canvasback ducks instead as they felt the latter was more geographically accurate.^[1] Other residents opposed the adoption of the seal, feeling there was no pressing need to do so.^[1]

In 1974, to mark the 300th anniversary of the county's founding, Cecil County held a contest for a flag to be designed for the county as it lacked one at the time. The winning design's designer was awarded $100 (equivalent to $525 today) and the county adopted her design as its official county flag. The flag is bisected vertically into two sections of equal width. The sinister is white and the dexter is crimson, the latter of which is also the official color of the county. The flag's design incorporates elements of the post-1968 seal on the sinister field.^[1]

Subsequent efforts to replace[]

In the 1980s, the existence of the old 17th century seal was rediscovered. As a result, this led to confusion as to whether or not the county had two official simultaneous seals as the former was never formally repealed as its existence was not known of. Thus, in 1986, there was a brief push to replace the current seal with the 17th century seal after its existence and likeness were known again, but it ultimately did not succeed and the current seal was retained.^[1]

In mid-2013, there was again a renewed push to replace the seal by a county councilman with a new design more resembling the 17th century one. The move was opposed by those who said the effort and cost of changing the seal, numbered in the thousands of dollars, would not be worth such a move. Ultimately, the effort did not succeed and the current seal was retained.^[4]

References[]