Massachusetts’ legal system reportedly makes it unusually easy to adopt state symbols. For years, it boasted more symbols than almost any other state, though several other states have since caught up with or even passed the Bay State.
History is a prominent theme among Massachusetts’ symbols, which include the turkey, cod, Morgan Horse, Johnny Appleseed and Plymouth Rock. There are several official songs, marches, dances, food items and domestic animals, a number of them associated with Boston.
Nicknames, Mottoes & Song
Massachusetts nicknames include Bay State, Pilgrim State and Baked Bean State. Citizens are officially designated Bay Staters, not Pilgrims or Beanies.
The state motto, Ense Petit Placidam Sub Libertate Quietem, translates “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.” It appears on the state seal, which is in turn featured on the state flag. Some see a darker message in the sword-wielding arm poised above a Native American.
Massachusetts’ chief official song is All Hail to Massachusetts.
Plants
Massachusetts shares its state flower and tree, the Mayflower or trailing arbutus and American elm, with Nova Scotia and North Dakota, respectively.
Massachusetts/Introduction is one of five states (Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey and North Carolina) that have designated official berries. (Four others—Alabama, Idaho, Kentucky and Louisiana—have designated various berries official fruits.) Massachusetts’ official berry is the cranberry, and cranberry juice is the official beverage.
The baked navy bean was designated the official bean, complementing the nickname Baked Bean State.
Animals
Massachusetts/Introduction is one of nine states (Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, Mississiippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin) with two official birds. It shares the black-capped chickadee with Maine and New Brunswick.Alabama, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and South Carolina all designated the turkey their official game bird. Of course, no state is more deserving of the turkey than Massachusetts, with which Thanksgiving is so closely associated.
Massachusetts/Introduction is one of three states (Massachusetts, Texas and Wisconsin) with four official mammals. Massachusetts and Georgia both call the right whale their official marine mammal.
Massachusetts shares its official horse, the Morgan Horse, with Vermont. But the Boston Terrier and Tabby Cat (the state dog and cat) are Massachusetts’ alone.
No other state fish had a greater impact on the United States than the cod, which was more important to both subsistence and the economy than the turkey and Morgan Horse combined.
Ladybird beetles, or ladybugs, represent six states (Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio and Tennessee) and Latvia. The New England Neptune serves as Massachusetts’ official shell.
Earth Symbols
Not satisfied with an official rock (Roxbury puddingstone), mineral (babingtonite) and gem (rhodonite), Massachusetts designated granite the official “building rock and monument stone.”
Massachusetts’ official fossil, the dinosaur track, may sound boring compared to real dinosaurs. However, the study of dinosaurs was launched in part by the mysterious tracks discovered in the Connecticut Valley, which winds through Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Miscellaneous Symbols
The Arts
Massachusetts has designated eight official songs, dances and marches, most of which would probably bore anyone who doesn’t live in Massachusetts. The official Song, Glee Club Song, Patriotic Song and Polka all feature the name Massachusetts in their titles. The official Ceremonial March honors Boston, while the official Ode refers to “the Commonwealth.”
There are also an official poem (Blue Hills of Massachusetts) and an official children’s book (Make Way for Ducklings).
People
Where would Massachusetts be without people, particularly Johnny Appleseed, the official Folk Hero? (Ironically, Massachusetts is not among the states that designated the apple their official fruit.)
Everyone’s heard of Massachusetts’ official Children’s Author, Theodor Geisel. He’s better known as Dr. Seuss.
The official Heroine, Deborah Samson, is more of a mystery. She’s reportedly the first person to be adopted as an official state hero or heroine. More important, she fought in the Revolutionary War, disguised as a man.
Food & Drink
Massachusetts boasts four official food items. The corn muffin is the official Muffin, while the official Cookie is the beloved chocolate chip cookie.
Boston cream pie and Boston creme donut serve as the official Dessert and Donut. Of course, all of these can be washed down with the official beverage, cranberry juice.
Miscellaneous Miscellaneous Symbols
Other Massachusetts symbols include a couple war memorials, along with an official Explorer Rock (Dighton Rock) and Historical Rock (Plymouth Rock). Citizens were officially designated Bay Staters in 1990.
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