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Minnesota State Government Series - State Symbols |
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 ake Superior agates. Common loons. Pink and white ladyslippers and Norway
pines. Walleyes and wild rice. All are characteristic of Minnesota, and
all capture the essence of the state. Over the course of Minnesota’s
statehood, the Legislature has adopted 14 such symbols to identify the
state. |
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The State Seal
It was on May 25, 1858 — two weeks after Minnesota became a state — that then Secretary of State Francis Baasen said to Governor Henry H. Sibley that, "My office being without a seal, I can of course do no official act unless you make some direction in the matter."
Sibley immediately authorized the use of the territorial seal until a new design could be created and agreed upon. That seal, essentially the same one in use today, was used while the Legislature debated the creation of a new one. In 1858, the Legislature approved a vastly different seal, but for some reason it was never officially adopted into law that year. Historians still aren’t sure why, but speculation has it that Sibley didn’t like the design and conveniently "lost" the bill in favor of the territorial design. In any case, the Legislature, in 1861, when notified that the governor may have acted outside his authority, approved the design and it was signed into law. So the essential elements of the territorial seal — a barefoot settler plowing a field near the Mississippi River, an Indian riding a horse, and a sunset — have remained ever since. |
But it, too, has changed slightly over the years. Prompted by Indian objection, the Legislature, in 1983, decreed that the Indian should face the settler by riding south rather than fleeing west. Captain Seth Eastman, an artist who was also the commanding officer at Fort Snelling, designed the seal. The State Bird
The sleek-looking bird can attain speeds of up to 60 miles per hour and can travel great distances under water. The loon’s legs are near the rear of its body, enabling it to dive under water quickly, quietly, and with great speed. But its legs weren’t made for walking. The loon earned its name from the old English word "lumme," meaning awkward person. The loon ventures on land only when nesting and breeding. And even then, the nest is always very close to water.
Its wings are also somewhat unusual in that they are very small. As a result, the loon, which averages about nine pounds, needs between 20 yards and a quarter mile to take off. Its distinctive features include a black-and-white checkered pattern on its back and an intense red eye, which is found only in adults. Its head is a dark green but is often |
mistaken for black. The description applies to both males and females, making it difficult to distinguish them. Loons are loners and prefer Minnesota’s isolated lakes, leading some to label their distinctive call as "the loneliest voice on earth." The State Flower
So, during the 1902 special session of the Legislature, a new resolution was adopted that changed the state flower to the pink and white lady-slipper. |
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Minnesota House of Representatives Public Information Services Office • Government Series • State Symbols |
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he
ou might think twice before picking the
But its history as the state flower began nearly 30
years before that. It was in 1893, the same year the state flag was
adopted, that a group of women preparing an exhibit of the state’s
products for the World’s Fair in Chicago decided they should have a state
flower to decorate their display. They petitioned legislators to adopt the
wild lady-slipper as the state flower, and the Legislature complied. But
several years later, officials discovered that the wild
lady-slipper named in law didn’t grow in Minnesota.