CANTON — A St. Lawrence County legislator has proposed the county change its logo to modernize it.

Alex A. MacKinnon, R-Fowler, thinks the county logo — a drawing of a jumping deer — could stand an update.

Mr. MacKinnon said he has no particular feeling about what the logo should be but that it could be something in keeping with the 21st century.

“We still have plenty of running deer, but we have other things as well,” he said.

The seal appears on county highway trucks, letterheads, the county map and various official documents.

There have been a number of versions of the logo over the years, said printing and mailroom supervisor Richard M. Cassara, a graphic artist who reworked it in 2010 when some new door seals were needed.

“The oldest representation I have is of an engraving,” he said.

Mr. Cassara’s version includes the deer leaping over cultivated fields that represent agriculture, mountains for the Adirondacks, water for the St. Lawrence River and a maple tree.

“I’ll do whatever they tell me,” he said.

Other examples of the logo are more simplistic, lacking much detail.

Trent A. Trulock, director of the county Historical Association, is researching the history of the seal for a presentation Mr. Cassara intends to make.

Mr. Trulock’s preliminary work shows that the seal appears in a history of the county by Franklin Benjamin Hough, which was originally published in 1853.

“The county was formed in 1802 so sometime between 1802 and 1853, the seal was adopted,” Mr. Trulock said. “It’s a deer jumping.”

Several county departments have their own logo and there has been talk in the past of a uniform image, Administrator Karen M. St. Hilaire said.

The treasurer’s seal has a cow, the old Board of Supervisors had a beehive and the Board of Legislators incorporates a gavel and feather, for example.

Mr. MacKinnon said he thought changing the seal could be a way of thinking about county resources and what best symbolizes the area.

“It could be a community project,” he said. “Who knows what we’ll come up with?”

Mr. MacKinnon asked that anyone with ideas email the county Board of Legislators office at KPearson@stlawco.org or LDemers@stlawco.org.

Any change could be implemented over time — such as when letterhead runs low — so a large expenditure would not be necessary, Mr. MacKinnon said.

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