The Great Seal of the State of Ohio features Ohio's coat of arms surrounded by the words, "THE GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE OF OHIO". Ohio's coat of arms features a full sheaf of wheat, symbolizing agriculture and bounty; a cluster of seventeen arrows, symbolizing Ohio's admittance as the seventeenth of the United States of America; a representation of Mount Logan, Ross County, as viewed from the Adena Mansion; a rising sun three-quarters exposed and radiating thirteen rays to represent the original thirteen states shining over the first state of the Northwest Territory; and a representation of the Scioto River and cultivated fields.
Ohio's legislature has defined Ohio's coat of arms in the Ohio Revised Code, chapter 5, section 04. The Great Seal is defined in chapter 5, section 10. The design has changed at least ten times in the state's history.1 The current version was adopted in 1967 and modified in 1996.2 A previous design from 1847, featured in the Statehouserotunda, includes a canal boat that has since been removed.3
Actual view from Adena
References
^ "Rotunda". The Ohio Statehouse. Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board (2005-12-20). Retrieved on 2007-08-04.