Throughout 2023 we’ll be exploring the origins of area place names. The town of Bucoda was once called Seatco, a Native American word meaning “ghost” or “devil.” In 1890, the name was changed to Bucoda for the first syllables of the businessmen who owned the coal mines in the area: James BUckley, Samuel COulter (pictured here) and John DAvid. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, olympiahistory.org.
Attribution: photo mid to late 1800s, Courtesy State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society