 The official town seal was created by Ward Cruea, a commercial artist from Dayton, Ohio.His original proposal featured the "sleeping giant" (the Blue Ridge Mountain ridgeline west of Amherst), but this was rejected since it represented an area outside the town's limits.According to town legend, while a group was in the Clerk's office in the town hall engaged in conversation on the topics of the day, and looking eastward along E. Court Street, it was suggested that the Amherst courthouse be used as a model for the official seal.