Throughout 2023 the Sunday Olympian’s Looking Back theme was origins of area place names. Budd Inlet was named for Thomas A. Budd, a member of the Wilkes Expedition that surveyed parts of the Salish Sea from 1838 to 1842, including South Puget Sound. Thomas Budd was the acting master of the Peacock, a sloop of war. He was later killed in action while serving the Union during the Civil War.
Archives Branch, Naval History and Heritage Command
Text © Deborah Ross and The Olympian 2023