2: Busiel Mill

The Busiel Mill was one of the first to adopt the newly invented Aiken and Pepper circular knitting machines with latched needles in the mid-1850s, and among the earliest to manufacture Shaker socks and other garments with these machines. Mill owner John W Busiel helped introduce “Shaker knit” socks here. Busiel's early adoption of this technological advancement has been cited as the reason that this business tended to centralize along the Winnipesaukee River, which became the home of the manufacture of woolen hosiery and knitting needles and machines. It is the location of the Busiel mill that adds even greater significance to its preservation. Founder John W Busiel is considered a pioneer in the development of the industry and is the father of Charles Busiel, who inherited part of the business and was an early Governor of New Hampshire from 1895 to 1897. After the knitting industry declined, clocks, electronic relays and organs were made here. In 1971, the Laconia Housing & Redevelopment Authority sold the former Busiel Mill to One Mill Plaza Inc and converted the entire building for office use. The adaptation won an award from the American Institute of Architects. According to historian Bryant Tolles, this mill is “one of the most striking and best designed small Victorian mill complexes in New Hampshire.”