Ione, Nevada facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ione, Nevada
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Sign at the west entrance to Ione
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 Ione, Nevada
Location in Nevada
Ione, Nevada
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| County | Nye |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
Ione, Nevada, is a ghost town in Nye County, Nevada. It is located about 23 miles (37 km) east of Gabbs. A ghost town is a place where most people have left. This often happens when the main industry, like mining, stops.
Ione began in November 1863. This was after P. A. Havens found silver in the Shoshone Range. Most mining in the area happened closer to towns like Union and Grantsville. But Ione grew into a busy place for trade and processing minerals.
Soon, people in Ione asked the government to create a new county. In January 1864, Nye County was officially formed in the Nevada Territory. Ione received $800 to build the county's first courthouse.
Within three years, a new discovery in Belmont attracted many people. A large number of Ione's residents moved there. In February 1867, the county seat was moved from Ione to Belmont.
Ione's Mining Booms
Ione had a second period of growth in 1896. This happened when E. W. Brinell built a new 10-stamp mill. A stamp mill crushes ore to get out the valuable minerals. In 1897, A. Phelps Stokes came to the Union District. He bought most of the mining and milling businesses there. This helped Ione grow again.
However, in July 1898, the value of silver dropped a lot. This caused Ione to decline once more.
The town saw one more comeback around 1912. People became interested in the large amounts of cinnabar found in the area. Cinnabar is a mineral that contains mercury. This last boom was also short. It ended in 1914. However, mercury continued to be mined in the area into the 1930s.
Ione's post office closed on April 30, 1959. In the 1970s, Hugh Marshall bought most of the town. He also purchased about 24 square miles (62 km²) of land around it.
What's in a Name?
The name Ione comes from a mining district that P. A. Havens organized in 1863. He named this new district after a mining district in California. The exact origin and meaning of the name for Ione, California are not fully known. There are different stories and ideas about where the name came from.
Images for kids
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Sign at the west entrance to Ione
See also
In Spanish: Ione (Nevada) para niños
