State Seal

State Seal is a Tennessee historical marker in Washington County.

Washington Co. TN 34 (US 11E),about 100 yards east of Jonesboro city limits

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ne-quarter mile SW on the main street of Jonesboro stood the silversmith shop of William and Matthew Atkinson, designers of the Great Seal of the State of Tennessee. Although authorized by the Tennessee Constitution of 1796, the seal was first used on April 24, 1802, by Archibald Roane, the second governor. Because of legislative failure to provide for a seal, the first governor, John Sevier, used personal seals during his first three terms.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1794 · Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1796 · Kentuckey. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1796 · Map of The Tennassee (sic) Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1797 · Tennassee Government. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1814 · Kentucky (Mathew Carey, 1814) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

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Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

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