What happened to the missing seal of Bucks County? It vanished after American Revolution

In mid-July 1895, 1,000 people trekked up steep Holicong Road to the top of Buckingham Mountain in Central Bucks. As members of the Bucks County Historical Society, they took their seats in five large tents to listen to a remarkable story about the hunt for the missing official seal of Bucks County government. Harmon Yerkes, president judge of county courts, described what happened following a telegram from Dr. William Egle in Harrisburg. The Civil War surgeon was looking for a copy of the original seal rumored to have a “tree and a vine” motif. It was needed to help decorate the new capitol building. Officials wanted to enshrine the seals of the three founding counties established by William Penn in the late 1600s.

“Tree and a vine”? That was news to Judge Yerkes. Philadelphia’s seal emphasized an anchor for its seaport history, and Chester a plow to honor its agriculture. For Bucks there was controversy. The original seal supposedly featured a tree and a vine. But no such engraving was on the seal in use. Stumped, Yerkes set out to solve the mystery.

According to the Philadelphia Press covering the mountain gathering, “Judge Yerkes encountered many difficulties. He searched (William W.) Davis’ history of Bucks County and interviewed historian William J. Buck. The latter had expressed his doubt as to whether such a seal had ever been used for official purposes.”

The judge searched old records in county and state archives. Finally, he found proof of the “tree and vine” seal on official documents before and during the American Revolution but not afterward. Why remains a mystery. The original seal was the size of a silver dollar. It contained the Penn family crest on a white background. A low, broad tree with a thick trunk and clustered branches rests above the crest. A trumpet vine – common at old homes in Bucks – reaches for the tree on both sides of the crest. Encircling the outer edge are the words “William Penn, Proprietor and Governor, Bucks”.

With his discovery, the judge requested the original seal be restored and put on prominent display in the county courthouse. Which was done. Today it’s also back in use in Bucks County.

Judge Yerkes’ discovery ensured the proper seal was on display in the capital. However, it put into question the Great Seal of Pennsylvania. Designed in 1791, it contains emblematic elements of the three original county seals – a plow for Chester, an anchor for Philadelphia and sheafs of wheat for Bucks. What?! No such thing exists on the county’s original seal. Time for change in Harrisburg, don’t you think, lawmakers? Replace the wheat with the tree, the vine or the Penn family crest.

Historic preservation

The charm of historic preservation makes Europe such a treasure. I marveled at this while backpacking through the continent in the 1970s. Too often preservation falters in the United States, even here in Bucks. Families who bequeath beautiful estates to local, county or state government for preservation risk unexpected consequences due to budgetary shortfalls or benign neglect.

Chris Merrick of Lower Makefield was mindful of this after reading my column published on Nov. 3 about Bensalem’s long lost Sarobia and its Alice in Wonderland-inspired garden. Robert Logan bequeathed the garden, his mansion and outbuildings to the state for preservation as Neshaminy State Park. As it turned out, the mansion deteriorated and was leveled. A carriage house, barn, and other outbuildings also succumbed. The garden was left untended and overrun.

My column moved Chris to comment: “I kept thinking how this property could start to disappear like a jungle reclaimed a Mayan temple. When the government takes ownership of these properties, there is usually no provision for maintenance. So, unless there is a large parks budget or the grounds are repurposed to generate sustaining revenues, entropy ensues. And rather quickly. A lesson: better planned giving is necessary if public preservation is the goal.”

Sources include “Long Lost Seal Unearthed” published in the Philadelphia Press on July 17, 1895. Thanks to Stephen Willey of the Durham Township Historical Society for pointing me to this story and others to appear in the coming year.

Carl LaVO can be reached at carllavo0@gmail.com

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: The hunt for seal of Bucks County and why sheafs of wheat on PA seal?