Busiel mill

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.” 

Laconia City Walk
  1. 1: Belknap Mill
  2. 2: Busiel Mill
  3. 3: Avery Dam
  4. 4: Guild-Northland Mills
  5. 5: Sunrise Towers
  6. 6: Stewart Park
  7. 7: Main Street and Urban Renewal
  8. 8: Allen-Rogers Buildings
  9. 9: Laconia Car Company
  10. 10: Pitman's Freight Room
  11. 11: Laconia Passenger Station
  12. 12: Bank Square
  13. 13: Rotary Park
  14. 14: McIntyre Building
  15. 15: Moulton Opera House
  16. 16: Pleasant Street Homes
  17. 17: Federal Building
  18. 18: Gale Memorial Library
  19. 19: Veterans Square
  20. 20: Evangelical Baptist Church
  21. 21: Congregational Church
  22. 22: Bank of New Hampshire
  23. 23: Woolworth Building
  24. 24: Cook Building
  25. 25: Pemaco Block
  26. 26: Colonial Theatre
  27. 27: Piscopo Block
  28. 28: Masonic Temple
  29. 29: Stafford House/Tavern
  30. 30: U.S. Post Office
  31. 31: John W Busiel House
  32. 32: St. Joseph Church
  33. 33: Perley Canal