Washington County was created from Frederick County by resolve of the Constitutional Convention of 1776. The County was named for George Washington. Washington County was the first county in the United States to use "Washington" as its name. Today there are approximately thirty others in the country.

There have been two Great Seals or logos of Washington County, although each has never been formally adopted. This original one, used between 1950 and 1988, though unofficially, is circular in shape, with the word "Washington" at the top center edge, and "County" directly centered below this on the bottom edge. Its design depicts farming through a barn and manufacturing through a factory, with the county map outline superimposed over these images. The present seal or logo has been in effect since 1988, although again, has not been officially adopted. It is oval in shape, with the words "Washington County" centered along the top edge, and "Maryland" centered along the bottom edge. It features a portrait of George Washington in the center. Above the portrait of Washington are nine stars. The larger star in the center represents Hagerstown, the County Seat. The remaining smaller eight stars represent the county's eight incorporated towns; Boonsboro, Clear Spring, Funkstown, Hancock, Keedysville, Sharpsburg, Smithsburg and Williamsport. To the right side of Washington's portrait is written the date, "1776" the year in which the county was founded.

Copyright © 1990-2022 by John T. Marck. All Rights Reserved. This article and their accompanying seals, may not be resold, reprinted, or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior written permission from the author. Maryland County Seals and Baltimore City Seal and their respective origin histories from: Maryland The Seventh State A History, © John T. Marck. All Rights Reserved. All Seals courtesy of the respective county, Office of the County Executive and/or the Department of Tourism. Reprinted with permission.

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