Almost a Ghost Town, Bucoda and the Seatco Prison (“Hell on Earth”) - Pacific Northwest History

In this episode of Searching for History, Erin and I drive down to Bucoda, Washington and visit the site of Washington Territory’s first prison, Seatco Prison. Bucoda was first settled in 1854 by Aaron Webster who a built sawmill on his homestead. The homestead and sawmill were sold to Oliver Shead in the 1860s. It was Oliver Shead that named the settlement, Seatco. In 1872, the Northern Pacific Railroad built a train depot at Seatco. From 1874 to 1888, Bucoda was the site of Washington’s first territorial prison, Seatco Prison. The prison had a reputation for harsh manual labor and was known as “hell on earth” by the inmates. Seatco eventually was renamed, Bucoda using the first two letters of three investors in the town: Buckley, Coulter and David. Bucoda was officially incorporated on June 7, 1910. In this video, we also visit the nearby Forest Grove Cemetery where inmates from Seatco Prison were buried. Please join us as we visit Bucoda and the Seatco Prison site.
#thurstoncounty
#bucoda
#seatcoprison
#forestgrovecemetery
#washingtonstate
#travelwashingtonstate
#washingtonstatehistory
Music Attributions
Song 1: To the Top by Silent Partner (KZbin Audio Library License, no attribution is required)
Song 2: Snowy Peaks pt I by Chris Haugen (KZbin Audio Library License, no attribution is required)
Image Attributions
Image 1: Seatco Territorial Prison” 1880-1890, Photographer: unknown. Washington State Archives - Digital Archives, State Library Photograph Collection, 1851-1990 - Ar-07809001-Ph003446. This image is in the Public Domain. Image located: www.digitalarc...

[@erinlikesacornishpasty4703]

We found it really interesting to learn about Seatco Prison. Have you been to Bucoda? Tell us what you think.

[@searchingforhistory]

I think this is another good example of history hiding where you least expect it. I've driven past the Forest Grove cemetery many times but never knew its connection to seatco prison.

[@RawOlympia]

Thank you! Door belled there for a friend running for office years ago. Everyone was really friendly, We literally went to every home in the town! Such a cool vid!

[@nowhereman7398]

I used to live in Bucoda. The town of Tenino was named after the train engine that hauled stone from Tenino to Olympia to build the capitol building. The trains identification, T-9-0. In Tenino. There is an old stone quarry that serves as a town swimming hole that used to supply stone for the capitol in Olympia.

[@searchingforhistory]

We made a video on Tenino last summer. If you have the time, check it out and tell us what you think: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqjUe2iihth_odE Thank you for the additional information and thanks for watching!

[@spaceystaci1]

Wow! Thank you for sharing! I've lived in Washington for almost 40 years and I don't think I've ever heard of it. Very interesting!!

[@searchingforhistory]

You are very welcome. Thank you for watching!

[@philmuxen3454]

Come and check it out,not much in Bucoda but Tenino has alot of interesting stuff in and around the area.

[@philmuxen3454]

​@searchingforhistory Thank you for that and other sites around Washington.Grew up here and visiting the graveyard late at night was a cool thing to do.Legand has it if you heard a cow bell the spirits were out and about.Parking across from the graveyard at night with your sweet heart was also very popular.

[@searchingforhistory]

@@philmuxen3454 You are very welcome. We did not hear the cow bell! Spooky...! Thanks for watching!

[@searchingforhistory]

@@philmuxen3454 We made a video on Tenino last summer, check it out and let us know if we missed anything. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqjUe2iihth_odE I would love to head back for another video if we knew of more things to show people.

[@bonniemason6220]

My husbands family had a reunion every AUGUST at Bucoda volunteer park. They were at this location for 30 years

[@searchingforhistory]

Thanks for watching!

[@earthandtime5817]

Really interesting. Thank you for sharing.

[@searchingforhistory]

I was thinking you might like the cemetery symbology explanation. I am curious if the symbology is utilized in 19th century cemeteries throughout the USA. My hunch is it is universal.

[@destonlee2838]

The prison was built by the owners of the local lumber mill who also got use of prisoners as free labor. State library has loads of interesting records of the corruption at that dark hole.

[@searchingforhistory]

I've worked with inmates out of DNR camps, so the State still uses prison labor, albeit under better conditions, and I think they get paid a small amount.

[@gerrylarson3675]

I think you need to go into the woods above or below the prison for prisoner burials. More likely the Skookumchuck erased them. Forest Grove is where we bury our families. Tenino

[@searchingforhistory]

While I do not know the research behind the informational panels in the Forest Grove cemetery, the people that installed the informational panels present some interesting information. The Chronicle has an article (and other sources) describing an unmarked mass grave of prisoners at Forest Grove. www.chronline.com/stories/seatco-prisoners-final-resting-place-in-forest-grove,68239 We appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. Thanks for watching!

[@ExploreTayo]

Interesting how the old prison system worked and why reforms that many complain about today were needed.

[@searchingforhistory]

I can only imagine the harsh conditions people experienced. Thanks for watching!

[@edmolash3401]

Pls do a piece on the abandoned logging town of Gate, west of Rochester.

[@searchingforhistory]

I've driven through gate many times over the years but i am not really sure if there is much of anything left to see. I will do a little research and see if I can put together enough for a video. Thanks for the idea and thanks for watching!

[@kellihatch3620]

Very informative and interesting. I enjoyed this one too. Thanks again.

[@searchingforhistory]

Glad you liked it!

[@ExploreTayo]

Some graves in the local Cemetery in VA where many of my family are buried date back to the 19th century, I'll have to compare the symbols there with the ones in this Cemetery.

[@searchingforhistory]

It would be interesting to know.

[@RoadWarrior-ht1uw]

Another excellent video. The prison was sure a harsh place and I know of two women that served time there at different times and they were basically kept in solitary confinement, which more than doubled the rigor of punishment compared to that of the men, who could associate with each other when locked up in their cells at night. Bucoda has always been a favorite of mine and it is cool to see a video of what was once the largest commercial district in Thurston county. Keep up the great work.

[@searchingforhistory]

We are glad you liked the video. Life in Seatco must have been pretty horrible. Love hearing your knowledge and insight on the history around here. Thanks for watching!

[@carolmelton9067]

Very interesting. I've driven by Bucoda many times, drove through maybe once, but I never knew about the cemetery. I noticed those prisoners listed were all young, it must have been "hell on earth" for them to die so young. And one of the women died from suicide. Also, I wonder what crimes they were convicted of. I'm wondering if they had fair trials. Would there be any record of the trials anywhere? Would be interesting to look them up. What a harsh life back then. Sad that they ended up in what are now unmarked graves.

[@searchingforhistory]

If there are records somewhere they are probably paper records sitting in an archive. The Washington State Archives would be the first place I would look. After making the video, I read an online article that reports the prisoners buried at the Forest Grove Cemetery were buried in a mass unmarked grave. www.thurstontalk.com/2017/10/01/seatco-territorial-prison/

[@AllTheHappySquirrels]

There are a couple of pioneer cemetaries where I grew up in Chehalis. I had no idea there was an old territorial prison in Bucoda 🤯

[@searchingforhistory]

Do you happen to know the names of the cemeteries? We will try to find them. Thanks for watching!

[@AllTheHappySquirrels]

@@searchingforhistory Fern Hill and Greenwood come to mind, I think there might be a couple more, though. Just outside of Chehalis on Hwy 6 is Claquato cemetery, too.

[@searchingforhistory]

@@AllTheHappySquirrels I will look into the ones you listed. We visited Claquato a few weeks ago and will have a Claquato video coming out soon.