A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
From the Photo series: A Closer Look: Explore Western New York’s architectural treasures series
The Busti Grist Mill dates back to 1839 and used the waters of Conewango Creek to produce wheat flour, cornmeal, buckwheat flour and animal feed. Restored as a functioning mill through a community effort, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The original wheel system can be seen on the bottom floor although the mill is now powered by electricity. It is open every third Sunday afternoon May through October.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
The Busti Mill is a restored and functioning grist mill that can grind wheat and corn into flour and cornmeal. It is open the third Sunday afternoon of the month May through October.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
The current grist mill was believed to be built in 1839 by Francis Sowl on the site of an earlier mill, possibly a saw mill, built by Heman Bush. The mill, producing wheat flour, cornmeal, buckwheat flour and animal feed, operated until 1959. In 1964, the Town of Busti gained the deed to the property. The restoration effort began in 1971 and was completed in 2013.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
The Busti Apple Festival, sponsored by the Busti Historical Society, began as a way to fund the restoration of the mill. It's held on the grounds the last Sunday in September. The restoration effort began in 1971 and was completed in 2014. The mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
The tailrace is where the water would exit the basement of the mill after it spun the turbines that generated the power for the mill.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
The working museum's display of a mill and grinding stones.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
A scale used to measure the weight of grain harvested by area farmers and brought to the mill to make feed or flour.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
The basement was where the mill generated its power and also where the grains were fed into the elevators that delivered them to the upper floors. Shown here is a 1920s Sprout Waldron Attrition Mill used for cattle feed.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
One of the grinding stones on display at the Busti Grist Mill.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
The original wheel system on the bottom floor that used the water from the nearby creek to power the grinding stones. Because the dam is no longer in use, the mill is now powered by an electric engine.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
Some of the patents on the 19th-century bolting machine that was built by the Howes Babcock & Company in nearby Silver Creek.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
A late 19th-century bolting machine that was built by the Howes Company in Silver Creek is used to sift flour from the grain.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
A group of wooden shafts, wheels, and pulleys that were found in the mill and probably used as part of the grain elevator system.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
The gearing system that drives the elevators and brings the product to the second floor. The mill currently has two elevators whereas in the past could have had a dozen.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
A late 19th-century bolting machine that was built by the Howes Babcock & Company in nearby Silver Creek is used to sift flour from the grain.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
A chain system that drives the small bolting reel on the second floor of the grist mill.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
A holding bin that stores the product before it is packaged into bags.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
A bolting machine used in sifting flour.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
The Grist Mill in Busti was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The restoration began in 1971 when three teens from the local 4-H club made it their mission to restore the mill and won a $500 grant from the Readers' Digest Foundation. Supporters in the community formed the Busti Historical Society to manage the project.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
The Conewango Creek that at one time powered the Grist Mill in Busti.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
The gears that power the late 19th-century bolting machine that was built by the Howes Babcock & Company in Silver Creek which moves the grain horizontally.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
The auger that is used in the late 19th-century bolting machine that was built by the Howes Babcock & Company in Silver Creek which moves the grain horizontally.
A Closer Look: The 1839 Busti Grist Mill
A shoot that was used to bag the finished product at the Busti Grist Mill.
In this Series
Photo series: A Closer Look: Explore Western New York’s architectural treasures
This series has taken Buffalo News photographers inside, outside, above and, on occasion, underneath local landmarks and to places most people…
