About Bucoda
Where Legends and Lumber Shaped a Town
Bucoda is a small town in Thurston County, Washington, with a population of 562 according to the 2010 census.
The area’s first American settler, Arron Webster, arrived in 1854. In the 1860s, he sold his land and sawmill to Oliver Shead, who named the settlement "Seatco"—a word said to mean "evil spirit" or "devil" in a local Indigenous language. The town was later renamed Bucoda, formed by combining the first two letters of the surnames of three key investors in local industries: Buckley, Coulter, and David.
In 1872, the Northern Pacific Railroad established a station in Seatco, helping spur economic activity. Coal mining began in the 1880s but never thrived due to the poor quality of the coal. From 1874 to 1888, Bucoda served as the location of Washington Territory’s first prison, which gained a notorious reputation for its harsh conditions and the dangerous labor imposed on inmates. The prison was eventually closed with the opening of the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla.
Bucoda was officially incorporated on June 7, 1910. The town once featured a prominent water tower, which was removed in the early 1980s. During its industrial peak, the Mutual Lumber Mill made Bucoda known as the “Town with the Million Dollar Payroll.” Although the mill burned down, it was rebuilt—only to be destroyed by fire once more after demand had faded.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Seatco Territorial Prison
FROM THE ARCHIVES: The Seatco Territorial Prison is pictured in what is today the town of Bucoda in South Thurston County in 1885.
Seatco Prison was at what is now 720 SW Factory St. in Bucoda.
"Located on the Skookumchuck River. In 1854, Aaron Webster settled the site and built a sawmill on the river," Revisiting Washington wrote in a historical account online. The Native Americans called the community that grew up around the mill Seatco, a name which clung to the town for over 35 years. The discovery of coal across the river brought John D. David, Portland capitalist, and John M. Buckley, of the Northern Pacific Railway, to the scene, where, with Samuel Coulter, they developed a mine. The village was the site of the first Territorial penitentiary. The use of convict labor in the coal mine and nearby logging camps created a scandal that caused the removal of the institution to Walla Walla in 1887. The name Bucoda, adopted in 1890, was a combination of the first syllables of the names of Messrs. Buckley, Coulter, and David."
- The Chronical March 23rd 2025
.jpg/:/rs=w:370,cg:true,m)
