The small city of Ione in Amador County, California, is filled with things to do and special events the whole family can enjoy. Nestled in the beautiful Gold Country foothills, Ione residents boast mild climate, serene lakes, beautiful oak trees, rolling hills, strong community spirit, and high quality of life. Ione's historic Main Street stretches along blocks of restaurants, cafes, and boutiques—a great shopping spot for visitors and residents alike!
Sierra Nevada Gold Country, where there are many historic towns and interesting places to visit as well as many recreational opportunities such as fishing, boating, hiking, and more. Amador county, one of the most beautiful recreation areas in all of California, boasts many beautiful forests, rivers, and lakes. A wonderful place to live!
Residents of the Sierra Nevada foothills enjoy not only a high quality of living but a low cost of living--good reasons the area is one of the fastest-growing in California.
Location
Ione is located on state routes 104 and 124, 30 miles southeast of Sacramento, and 30 miles northeast of Stockton. Ione is only 15 minutes to Jackson and 25 minutes to Plymouth and the Shenandoah Valley wineries of Amador County.
Gold Country (also known as Mother Lode Country), famed for its mineral deposits and gold mines, lies along California State Highway 49, stretching from Mariposa County in the south to Sierra County in the north. It includes parts of Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Mariposa, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sierra and Tuolumne Counties. Mother lode is a term associated with the mining of gold and silver. The area contains hundreds of mines, and was one of the most productive gold-producing districts in the United States during the famous gold-rush era.
Amador County in beautiful Northern California is nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The Sierra Nevada (Spanish for "Snowy Range") is a mountain range in the eastern portion of California.
Brief History
Ione is believed to be named by Thomas Brown around 1849, after one of the heroines in Edward Bulwer Lytton's drama "The Last Days of Pompeii." During the days of the Gold Rush, miners Ione "Bedbug" and "Freezeout." While other towns in Amador County were founded on gold mining, Ione was a supply center, stage and rail stop, and an agricultural hub.
The first school in Ione was built in 1853. The historic Methodist Church was completed in 1862. The first flour mill was built in 1855. The City of Ione was incorporated in 1953 and is now the largest city in Amador County.
The California Gold Rush began when particles of gold were first discovered by foreman James W. Marshall while building a lumber mill for Sacramento pioneer John Sutter along the American River. As rumors spread, waves of fortune seekers, to the tune of about 300,000 people, fled to California from all over the world.
Called "forty-niners", seekers from everywhere traveled across the United States to California by ship and by covered wagon, often with great hardship. And unfortunately, though billions of dollars worth of gold was discovered, only a few became wealthy.
In the process, San Francisco, which had been a tiny settlement before the gold rush, soared from a population of about 1,000 residents in 1848 to 25,000 by 1850!
Amador County (Spanish for “one who loves”) was created in 1854. The county is named after Jose Maria Amador, who in 1848 created a gold-mining camp near what is today Amador City.
Housing
The Sierra Nevada foothills offer some of the most prized real estate in California with its historic houses, ranches, quaint Gold Rush Towns, and its lakes, streams, and rivers. Whether you’re a young family or just about to retire, enjoy the high quality of life in the small-town beautiful setting the foothills offer.
Local Wineries
Famous for its Zinfandel, Amador County is home to over 30 wineries. Many of these family-owned wineries are nestled in picturesque back roads in rural Shenandoah Valley, one of California’s lesser-known wine regions increasingly becoming popular with the Napa Valley winery-weary. The 8-mile-long Shenandoah Valley has about two dozen producers.
Here are two wineries to visit in the city of Ione:
Argonaut Winery
13825 Willow Creek Road, Ione
Clos du Lac Cellars
Highway 88 at Jackson Valley Road, Ione
"Clos du Lac Cellars" loosely translates as "Enclosed Vineyard by the Lake". Here, there is a lake and a tasting room reminiscent of a French Chateau. Enjoy!
Dining
Residents and visitors alike enjoy some delicious fare in this charming historic town!
Buena Vista Store, Saloon
5864 Buena Vista Road, Ione
274-4753
Caddy's Restaurant & Bar
1000 Castle Oaks Dr., Ione CA 95640
274-6354
Frank A's Pizza
325 Preston Ave., Ione
274-6314
Hunan Restaurant
335 Preston Ave., Ione
274-2646
Larry's Diner
4 Plymouth Hwy, Ione
274-4116
Loreta's Pizzeria and Restaurant
10 E. Main St., Ione
274-4080
Mike's Mexican Food
24 E. Main Street, Ione
274-0620
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