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.
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!
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.
We made a video on Tenino last summer. If you have the time, check it out and tell us what you think: th-cam.com/video/lwqJ5lQsLko/w-d-xo.html Thank you for the additional information and thanks for watching!
@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.
@@philmuxen3454 We made a video on Tenino last summer, check it out and let us know if we missed anything. th-cam.com/video/lwqJ5lQsLko/w-d-xo.html I would love to head back for another video if we knew of more things to show people.
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.
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!
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
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!
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.
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!
@@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.
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.
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.
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.
Under proper working conditions I think inmates working only makes sense. They committed the crime, why do we have to pay for their room & board? Plus learning a trade helps keep the inmates busy and gives them a learned skill to use when they get out. In Butte, MT the old prison once had a dairy and they made ice cream, had a basket ball team, a band, etc ...
@@KDBee-ri5hi I agree with the idea of having inmates work. At Seatco prison, it sounds like the work was under very harsh conditions, thus the "Hell on Earth." Earlier in my career I inspected forestry work done by inmate crews and it looked like a great thing for them to get outside and learn new skills. Thanks for watching!
@KDBee-ri5hi the programs youre talking about cost money like any startup. As you've made clear, you don't want to pay for their room and board. Further, experience and time have shown us too much corruption amongst gaurds and wardens with said programs.
Yes, in fact we touched on it in this video: th-cam.com/video/PdY9NbxXxZQ/w-d-xo.html One of our future plans is to go down outside of Portland and do a video specifically on the Willamette Meridian. Maybe next year.
There are remnents of the mill had you walked past that first fenced in marker . which was not fenced in just a few years back. It was dedicated by Dixy Lee Ray when her/him was Gov. of Wa. The prison got a majority of the ' inmates' by shang-hi , no crime no court just free labor slaves. If you ever get though Bucoda again stop at the tavern for lunch
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.
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/
The inmates did not get headstones but rather wooden crosses . the ones that did get headstones could afford them or had family that could pay for them immediately and later a few of them got stone replacements . At least a third of the cemetery burials or there abouts are the former inmates
Thanks for sharing the information about the inmate burials. I read online that there was a mass burial of inmates there but I did not know about the individual markers. Thanks for watching!
The ground has claimed the headstones. They have sunk in. Despicable that the cemetary guild doesn't spend a day finding and lifting and caring for it. That's WA ....
On Earth as it is in Heaven...... Sadly is not on the Manifest. I've tried my whole life. They always made Me Dead with an [ ALL CAPITOL letters NAME ] .
We found it really interesting to learn about Seatco Prison. Have you been to Bucoda? Tell us what you think.
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.
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!
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.
We made a video on Tenino last summer. If you have the time, check it out and tell us what you think: th-cam.com/video/lwqJ5lQsLko/w-d-xo.html
Thank you for the additional information and thanks for watching!
My parents live in tenino
@@TheDarthSoldier Thanks for watching!
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!!
You are very welcome. Thank you for watching!
Come and check it out,not much in Bucoda but Tenino has alot of interesting stuff in and around the area.
@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.
@@philmuxen3454 You are very welcome. We did not hear the cow bell! Spooky...! Thanks for watching!
@@philmuxen3454 We made a video on Tenino last summer, check it out and let us know if we missed anything. th-cam.com/video/lwqJ5lQsLko/w-d-xo.html
I would love to head back for another video if we knew of more things to show people.
Really interesting. Thank you for sharing.
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.
Pls do a piece on the abandoned logging town of Gate, west of Rochester.
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!
Very informative and interesting. I enjoyed this one too. Thanks again.
Glad you liked it!
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
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!
My husbands family had a reunion every AUGUST at Bucoda volunteer park. They were at this location for 30 years
Thanks for watching!
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.
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!
Some very affordable cute houses down there. I’d love to see a video on Seaview, Wa down by Long Beach on the coast.
I will look into Seaview and see if there is a history story to tell.
Been to Tenino many times and never knew that it was state‘s first prison, Interesting to learn
Thar is what is great about learning about the history around us. Thanks for watching!
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 🤯
Do you happen to know the names of the cemeteries? We will try to find them. Thanks for watching!
@@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.
@@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.
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.
It would be interesting to know.
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.
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.
Under proper working conditions I think inmates working only makes sense. They committed the crime, why do we have to pay for their room & board? Plus learning a trade helps keep the inmates busy and gives them a learned skill to use when they get out. In Butte, MT the old prison once had a dairy and they made ice cream, had a basket ball team, a band, etc ...
@@KDBee-ri5hi I agree with the idea of having inmates work. At Seatco prison, it sounds like the work was under very harsh conditions, thus the "Hell on Earth." Earlier in my career I inspected forestry work done by inmate crews and it looked like a great thing for them to get outside and learn new skills. Thanks for watching!
@KDBee-ri5hi the programs youre talking about cost money like any startup. As you've made clear, you don't want to pay for their room and board. Further, experience and time have shown us too much corruption amongst gaurds and wardens with said programs.
Have you two ever heard of the Willamette Meridian ?
Perhaps you could look at it.
Yes, in fact we touched on it in this video: th-cam.com/video/PdY9NbxXxZQ/w-d-xo.html
One of our future plans is to go down outside of Portland and do a video specifically on the Willamette Meridian. Maybe next year.
@@searchingforhistory thanx cool
prisnors were hauled out to river rd in lewis county to build the rock wall next to the chehalis river
Interesting. We will have to see if we can find the wall. Thanks for the information, and thanks for watching!
There are remnents of the mill had you walked past that first fenced in marker . which was not fenced in just a few years back. It was dedicated by Dixy Lee Ray when her/him was Gov. of Wa. The prison got a majority of the ' inmates' by shang-hi , no crime no court just free labor slaves. If you ever get though Bucoda again stop at the tavern for lunch
Thanks for the heads up about the sawmill remnants. Next time we are near Bucoda we will see if we can find them. Thanks for watching!
Live in Tenino the city next door. Very peaceful small time city. Can drive thru in 30 seconds.
We have driven through Tenino many times and in fact we made a video on Tenino a couple years ago. Thanks for watching!
Interesting how the old prison system worked and why reforms that many complain about today were needed.
I can only imagine the harsh conditions people experienced. Thanks for watching!
should have done a piece on Tono up above Buccoda.
Tono is on our future video list. We will probably get to it next year. Thanks for watching!
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.
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/
Hello from King County.
Hello there. Hope your day is going well.
The 507 highway got replaced by Interstate 5
I prefer driving 507 when I'm not in a hurry. 🙂
@@searchingforhistory I was a kid when I-5 was being constructed so we still use 507
The inmates did not get headstones but rather wooden crosses . the ones that did get headstones could afford them or had family that could pay for them immediately and later a few of them got stone replacements . At least a third of the cemetery burials or there abouts are the former inmates
Thanks for sharing the information about the inmate burials. I read online that there was a mass burial of inmates there but I did not know about the individual markers. Thanks for watching!
The ground has claimed the headstones. They have sunk in. Despicable that the cemetary guild doesn't spend a day finding and lifting and caring for it. That's WA ....
Interesting. If we are ever out there again, I will look for depressions. Thanks for watching!
On Earth as it is in Heaven...... Sadly is not on the Manifest. I've tried my whole life. They always made Me Dead with an [ ALL CAPITOL letters NAME ] .
Thanks for watching!