Emergency Crime Scene and Biohazard Cleanup in Bucoda, WA

Bucoda is a small incorporated town in southern Thurston County, in the valley of the Skookumchuck River.

The first American settler at the site was Aaron Webster, who arrived in 1854; the settlement was first called Seatco, a Native word said to mean evil spirit, ghost, or devil.

Bucoda was the site of Seatco Prison, Washington Territory's first prison, which opened in 1878 and gained a notorious reputation for harsh conditions and brutal convict labor in local industries.

The town was renamed Bucoda by combining parts of the names of three local industry investors — James Buckley, Samuel Coulter, and John David.

Coal mining began around Bucoda in the 1880s but the coal was poor quality and operations were sporadic; lumber later boomed, and the productive Mutual Lumber Company mill once earned Bucoda the billing of the Town with the Million Dollar Payroll.

Bucoda was officially incorporated in 1910.

The 2020 census counted 600 people in Bucoda; the 2010 census counted 562 people in 222 households.

The town covers only about 0.59 square miles.

Playing on its dark prison history, Bucoda has officially renamed itself Boocoda every October since 2021 and bills itself as the world's tiniest town with the biggest Halloween spirit.