1840s

Weights and Measures: Tester Scale

As Fort Wayne and Allen County grew in the northeastern corner of Indiana, business and industry also began to grow. It became increasingly important to establish a community with shared standards of commerce so that all business transactions were equitable and fair. To this end, the Office of Sealer of Weights and Measures was created in 1844; the first office holder was D. W. Burroughs.

The large scale featured here was a test scale from the 1840s. Throughout the 1840s, it was used in the Allen County Courthouse to set the standard to which all other weights were compared for use in commercial transactions.