The town is located in the fertile Ione Valley; it is believed to have been named by Thomas Brown around 1849 after one of the heroines in Edward Bulwer-Lytton's drama The Last Days of Pompeii, but conflicting legends and sources for the name exist.[11] During the days of the Gold Rush, the miners knew the town by the names of "Bedbug" and "Freezeout." Unlike other communities in Amador County that were founded on gold mining, Ione was a supply center, stage and rail stop, and agricultural hub.[12]
The first post office opened in 1852.[13] The town of Ione continued to grow and prosper after its gold rush founding. The first school was built in 1853. The historic Methodist Church was organized in 1853 and the structure was completed in 1862. The first flour mill was built in 1855. The first brick building was built by Daniel Stewart, D. Stewart Company Store, in 1855 for his general merchandise store. It is still owned and operated by Stewart family descendants.
At the centennial celebration of 1876, Ione had a population of about 600, which included about 100 Chinese who lived in Ione's Chinatown. The town included one public school, four churches, four general stores, one meat market, one laundry, one brewery, a restaurant, millinery shop, an art gallery, six saloons, a drug store and barber shop, and many other business establishments. The centennial also celebrated the completion of the Stockton and Ione Railroad, which had been incorporated in 1873 to build a 40-mile (64 km) long narrow gauge railroad from Stockton via Linden to Ione. It ceased operations in 1876.
The centennial celebration was the beginning of what is now known as the Ione Homecoming. This annual celebration has been held during the month of May almost every year since that first Centennial celebration in 1876. It is held annually on the second full weekend in May.
The Preston School of Industry, known as The Castle, was built between 1890–1894 to serve as a school for juveniles referred by the courts. The Castle is not in use, but the Preston Castle Foundation is working to help restore it.[14]
At the 2010 census Ione had a population of 7,918. The population density was 1,656.6 inhabitants per square mile (639.6/km2). The racial makeup of Ione was 5,826 (73.6%) White, 824 (10.4%) African American, 173 (2.2%) Native American, 110 (1.4%) Asian, 21 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 678 (8.6%) from other races, and 286 (3.6%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,991 persons (25.1%).[20]
The census reported that 3,746 people (47.3% of the population) lived in households, 12 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 4,160 (52.5%) were institutionalized.
There were 1,466 households, 482 (32.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 810 (55.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 159 (10.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 77 (5.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 84 (5.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 6 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 335 households (22.9%) were one person and 143 (9.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.56. There were 1,046 families (71.4% of households); the average family size was 2.99.
The age distribution was 1,060 people (13.4%) under the age of 18, 648 people (8.2%) aged 18 to 24, 2,880 people (36.4%) aged 25 to 44, 2,550 people (32.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 780 people (9.9%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 41.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 310.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 366.5 males.
There were 1,635 housing units at an average density of 342.1 units per square mile (132.1 units/km2), of which 1,466 were occupied, 1,026 (70.0%) by the owners and 440 (30.0%) by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.9%. 2,574 people (32.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,172 people (14.8%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
At the 2000 census there were 7,129 people in 1,081 households, including 780 families, in the city. The population density was 1,502.6 inhabitants per square mile (580.2/km2). There were 1,155 housing units at an average density of 243.4 units per square mile (94.0 units/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 57.90% White, 17.83% Black or African American, 2.30% Native American, 1.68% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 18.12% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. 20.16% of the population were Hispanic. The age distribution was 17.8% under the age of 18, 13.6% from 18 to 24, 45.0% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.6% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 380.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 449.1 males.
The median household income was $40,625 and the median family income was $48,911. Males had a median income of $26,922 versus $23,633 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,340. About 9.3% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
Mule Creek State Prison is located in the community. According to the Mule Creek State Prison website, there are 3,782 prisoners residing in the facility, well above the designed capacity of 1,700. They account for more than half of Ione's total population.
^Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 502. ISBN1-884995-14-4.
^"Preston Castle". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
