Seal of the City of Stamford (originally of the Town of Stamford)

DESIGN OF THE TOWN SEAL AND ITS ASSIGNMENT TO THE TOWN OF STAMFORD

“Later the Stamford Historical Society felt that the town should have an official seal and through the efforts of George R. Close, a valued member of the Society, then Town Clerk, steps were taken to interest the townspeople in this idea. Action was immediate, and as necessary legal formalities had to be settled by the town and the Society before the assignment of the seal could become absolute, the following resolution was passed by the Society:

WHEREAS, the Town of Stamford at its annual meeting duty warned and held October 4, 1915, voted as follows:

RESOLVED: that the following seal be adopted as the seal of the Town of Stamford, to wit: A shield divided into four quarters, the first quarter representing the coat of arms of Stamford, in Lincolnshire, England, the second quarter representing in peaceful profile the Indian and the Settler, the third quarter representing an old grist mill and fields of grain, the fourth quarter representing two crossed keys, one of ancient design, and the other of modern design, above the shield an ancient ship and below the shield in a scroll the words, “Stamford, Connecticut” and between the scroll and the shield the figures “1641.” Provided, however that this resolution shall not take effect until a seal conforming to the provisions hereof shall have been prepared and delivered into the possession of the Town Clerk, nor until the holders of the copyright of the device herein described shall have transferred to the Town of Stamford the full and complete perpetual right to use and reproduce said device.

Now THEREFORE RESOLVED: that the President of this Society be authorized to sign and deliver to the Town of Stamford the complete and perpetual right to use, as a seal, the device known as the coat of arms of the Town of Stamford, which device was copyrighted by the Stamford Historical Society, May 9, 1914, and known as copyright No. 74804.

“The assignment of the Seal to the Town of Stamford took place on April 12, 1916 in the office of the Town Clerk of Stamford. Thus ended a momentous and gratifying episode in the History of the Stamford Historical Society.”

Stamford Government History