Busiel-Seeburg Mill
a.k.a. Granite Hosiery Mill;J.W. Busiel & Co.
Mill St., Laconia, NHThe Busiel mill represents the growth of a single hosiery manufacturing company which was, by the turn of the century, the largest of its kind in this industrial region of New Hampshire. Its founder, John W. Busiel was a pioneer in the development of the industry and the father of Charles A. Busiel, who inherited part of the business and was an early Governor of New Hampshire. The mill was one of the first to adopt the newly invented Aiken and Peppers circular knitting machines with latched needles in the mid-1850s, and among the earliest to manufacture Shaker socks and other garments with these machines. 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.
The building itself is an interesting example of the development of industrial architecture within the textile industry. In comparison with the Belknap-Sulloway mill, which stands opposite the Busiel mill, the construction reflects the later development of "slow-burn" floor framing. The contrast in both style and structural composition makes this building an excellent mill in which to show the vernacular changes in New England industrial architecture. The increases in space through a series of additions permit some measure of tastes in succeeding generations of the mill building. As an example of the small Victorian mill, which grew to a sizeable business in the region, the Busiel mill is among the most attractive to have survived.
It is the location of the Busiel mill, however, which adds even greater significance to its preservation. Sited along the river, opposite the Belknap-Sulloway mill, its tower and cupola are again visible as a visual focus to the center of Laconia. As part of an urban renewal project, the less significant buildings have been removed to present the building within an open area along the Winnipesaukee which cuts through the city.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.