Alternate seal design by Charles F. Lowe

Alternate design of the Great Seal of Minnesota by Charles F. Lowe, 1858. Some sources identify Robert O. Sweeny as the designer instead of Lowe. From William H. C. Folsom's Fifty Years in the Northwest (St. Paul: Pioneer Press, 1888), 658. Officially adopted by the Minnesota legislature but never used, the Lowe/Sweeny design echoed themes in the territorial seal. The central waterfall represents Minnehaha Falls. A Native American warrior pointing towards the setting sun provides a counterpoint to images of farming, shipping, and other signs of “progress.”