In 1845, when South Windsor incorporated as a separate town from East Windsor, a Town Seal was adopted. More than 100 years later, a contest was launched for a new image to represent the town. The winning entry was designed by Doris P. Burgdorf and was adopted on June 2, 1969. Burgdorf won $48.
Can you spot all of the motifs in the seal and identify what they represent?
Projectile Points: The “arrowheads” along the outside of the seal are a reminder of the first inhabitants of South Windsor.
Shield: The shape of the shield at the center of the seal was borrowed from the Town Seal of East Windsor, to forever associate us with the town of which we a part of since 1768. The shield is also a simplified version of the Connecticut Coat of Arms.
Rocket: The dark green shape behind the shield is of a rocket, symbolizing the innovative future of the town. During the time that Burgdorf created the town seal, UTC Power, headquartered in South Windsor, was supplying fuel cells to NASA for Apollo missions (and later for the Space Shuttle Program as well).
Tobacco Leaves: Probably the most recognized symbol of South Windsor’s past, it is tobacco farming that played the most important role in our agricultural history.
Latticework: This intricate design feature was popular with colonial era craftsmanship, such as in the furniture of Eliphalet Chapin, the clocks made by Eli Terry and by countless iron workers and engravers.
Fish and Flowers: Highlighting South Windsor’s miles of Connecticut River coastline, Burgdorf included images of a specific fish and flowers:
“I chose to decorate the seal with blossoms of shadblow, our first wild spring blossoms, so named for the concurrence with the annual shad run on the Connecticut River. They are a gentle reminder of the wealth of nature we have not yet destroyed in our woodlands and meadows.”[1]
The Connecticut river played a pivotal role in the settling of the area and allowed for the community to grow and prosper by providing a means of shipping. In 2003, the American Shad was officially adopted as the Connecticut state fish.
[1] SW Town Seal Reflects the Past, The Journal Inquirer, Wednesday, September 9, 1970