Seneca County Auditor’s Office: a weighty history

National Weights and Measures Week celebrated on March 1-7

When states around the nation celebrate National Weights and Measures Week on March 1-7, many do not realize there was a time in the U.S. where each state had its own system for weighing and measuring consumer products.

The unification of how everything from produce to lumber to electric vehicle chargers is weighed and measured started with the nation’s second president, John Adams, signing the federal Weights and Measures law on March 2, 1799.

Please consider all the things you buy based on weight, measure or count – milk for your cereal; gasoline (or other fuel) for your car; carpet for your family room; meat and vegetables for your dinner; lumber to build your home; toothpaste; and even medications to keep you healthy. You get the idea. So many of the goods we buy are bought or sold based on some sort of measurement.

Ohio law provides that the county auditor shall be the county sealer of weights and measures.  The county auditor employs inspectors who shall see that all state laws relating to weights and measure are strictly enforced.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture tests and certifies weights and measures’ standards used by Seneca County for use by inspectors to test the many scales and meters utilized by county businesses.  In addition, the Ohio Department of Agriculture assists county inspectors in tests of certain meters and scales, including vehicle scales and meters on bulk fuel and propane trucks based in Seneca County.  These inspections are conducted to ensure accuracy in the marketplace.

Weights and measures jurisdictions use Weights and Measures’ Week to inform others about their role in commerce and to help the public to be more aware as consumers.  Weights and measures affect everyone and is one of the government’s most impactful consumer protection services.  Contact the Seneca County Auditor’s Office for more information at (419) 447-0692.