Hilliard Mills owner to restore final building
Apr. 13—MANCHESTER — The owner of the Hilliard Mills is planning to restore the site's final untouched manufacturing building to its early 19th century appearance.
Peter Bonzani Jr., owner of the Hilliard Mills, said Building 6 will be renovated in a partnership with the Manchester Historical Society, which has provided background on the structure, and Preservation Connecticut, which will help with applying for tax credits with the State Historical Preservation Office.
Bonzani said he purchased three of the buildings at the former mill site on Hilliard Street in 2006 and bought the other three in 2009 from a different owner.
The parcel on the southwest corner of Adams and Hilliard streets is bordered on a wooded lot by Bigelow Brook and the Hockanum River. It's the site of the oldest woolen mill in the country, dating back to 1780, when Aaron Buckland operated a wool factory there that manufactured the suit George Washington wore on his inauguration day and material for blankets used by soldiers in the War of 1812, according to the mill's website.
Restoration has been ongoing at the site since Bonzani purchased the first buildings, and the mills now have a number of tenants, including office and business suites, as well as event space.
"Some buildings have some more work to do, but Building 6 is the last that has not been renovated or restored," Bonzani said on Wednesday.
The final building will require the most effort because the construction is more typical of a barn than an industrial building, he said. The ultimate goal is to restore the exterior of the building to how it would have looked when it was built in the 19th century, he said.
"We don't want to leave it behind," Bonzani added.
Bonzani said he plans to lease out portions of the building for commercial use and office space once renovations are complete, which he hopes to wrap up by the end of 2024.
Town Historian Susan Barlow said Bonzani has done a "tremendous" job with the Hilliard Mills.
"Some of our other mills, Oakland Paper and Union Cotton mills, did not get preserved," Barlow said.
Bonzani said Building 6 could be one of the oldest timber frame manufacturing buildings in the state, though the dates of construction for some of the structures are contested. Few such buildings still stand, he said, due to fires and owners replacing wooden structures with masonry.
"The Hilliards didn't really take buildings down, they just added on," Bonzani said.
According to the Manchester Historical Society website, the mills were the backbone of a village known as Hilliardville, employing as many as 200 employees in 1923. The area originally had a sawmill in the 17th century, and a woolen mill was started in the late 18th century.
The woolen mill owner sold the property to Samuel Pitkin in 1832, who brought Elisha E. Hilliard on as a partner. Hilliard became the sole owner of the business in 1842, transforming the mills into a family enterprise.
Buildings were added onto the site throughout the 19th and early 20th century, with Building 6 dating to 1834.
Hilliard Mills closed in 1937 during the Great Depression, but Pratt & Whitney re-opened the factories in the 1940s for defense manufacturing. Other uses of the site include furniture production, furniture recycling, realty offices, and piano restoration.
Joseph covers Manchester and Bolton for the Journal Inquirer.
