Merrimack County Gets a New Seal

If you see a new seal on Merrimack County buildings and documents in the near future, you can thank Judy Palfrey, an area artist.

Palfrey donated her time and labor and designed a new seal for the county, which was unveiled recently at the county commissioner’s office in Boscawen.

The project to create a new seal took about a year with Palfrey working with commissioners on design elements, according to Bronwyn Asplund-Walsh, who represents District 2. Commissioners had a number of ideas but narrowed it down to a few, basic historic themes, from about 20 different ideas. Palfrey went through four iterations of the design during the course of the year.

“It was definitely a challenge,” Palfrey said.

Toward the end of the final design, Palfrey said she wanted to make sure that the seal looked good when it was shrunk down, which required narrowing down the themes.

“It was a great effort, it took a long time, and Judy did a fantastic job,” Asplund-Walsh said.

The seal offers a depiction of the state capitol building in Concord, a mill in Franklin that once made hosiery, an Abbot-Downing stage coach, and the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers, which both flow into the Merrimack. The rivers also separate the other historic images on the seal.

“I’m glad you’re all pleased with it,” Palfrey said. “It was fun.”

Palfrey is a member of the Lakes Regional Art Association and Manchester Artist Association and has been an artist all of her life. More of her artwork can be found online at judypalfrey.com.