The City Seal

The City Clerk is the official “Keeper of the City Seal.” The City Seal is one standard of the City’s identity, and its use is governed by City Administrative Regulations. The seal is used on official City documents having long-term archival value such as City Council meeting agendas, annual reports, City building bronze plaques, and high school diplomas.  The City Clerk must approve all uses of the City Seal. (See City Charter, Chapter 3, Section 3.09)

History of the City Seal

The City officially adopted the Seal of the City of Chesapeake on January 2, 1963. Mr. Kenneth Harris designed the Seal.

The figures, implements and verse inside the outer ring are highly symbolic. The man standing on the left represents the rural population, against a background of fields, trees and a home. The plow beside him represents agriculture. The worker, standing on the right, represents business and industry, against a background of factories and shipping facilities. The rising sun symbolizes the bright future that is the result from the joined hands. “One Increasing Purpose” the motto above the figures, illustrates the promising future of humanity, is a phrase from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem Locksley Hall.