Ione

History

Ione was first settled in 1894 by homesteader Elmer Hall. Ione was officially incorporated on January 3, 1910. The timber industry played a major role in Ione's history. In the early 1900's, Frederick A. Blackwell's Panhandle Lumber Company opened the inland northwest's first all-electric sawmill in Ione. The timber-based economy persisted for nearly 100 years in Ione, lasting until 1995 when the Vaagen Brothers' sawmill, the last major sawmill in the county, closed down. After the mill shut down, some of the residents relocated to Colville, due to the expansion of the local saw mill site. The railroad reached Ione in 1910 when Blackwell built the Idaho and Washington Northern Railroad, connecting Ione with Metaline Falls in the north and Newport in the south. When Pend Oreille County was established in 1911, Ione was one of four towns vying to land the county seat, along with Newport, Cusick, and Usk, with the honors being awarded to Newport in 1912.

Geography

Ione is situated on the west bank of the Pend Oreille River as it flows north towards Canada. Big Muddy Creek, Little Muddy Creek and Cedar Creek, from south to north, join the river in Ione. State Route 31 passes through town. Ione Bridge, on the southern edge of town, is the only road crossing of the Pend Oreille between Metaline Falls to the north and Usk to the south. Being located in the Selkirk Mountains, the area immediately surrounding Ione is of high topographic relief. The town itself is on a relatively flat area along the river at an elevation of 2,090 feet above sea level, but the mountains rise dramatically both sides of the Pend Oreille. Cement Mountain, with its peak roughly a mile immediately north of town, rises to 3,003 feet. Molybdenite Mountain, across the river from Ione, rises even higher to 6,788 feet. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  444
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  356
• Red-breasted Nuthatch

  Sitta canadensis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  341
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee

  Poecile rufescens (J.K.Townsend, 1837) · Aves
  318
• Pine Siskin

  Spinus pinus (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  267
• Yellow-rumped Warbler

  Setophaga coronata (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  259
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  259
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  244

Largest nearby schools

• Selkirk Elementary School
  Elementary · Metaline Falls · 124 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• Selkirk High School
  High · Ione · 75 students · 12.5:1 ratio
• Selkirk Middle School
  Middle · Ione · 64 students · 12.8:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.2 — 2026-05-16
  30 km ESE of Nelson, Canada
• M 2.7 — 2024-09-30
  19 km NNE of Kootenai, Idaho
• M 2.5 — 2024-03-30
  37 km ESE of Nelson, Canada
• M 2.81 — 2020-05-15
  3 km NNE of Green Bluff, Washington
• M 3.2 — 2020-02-15
  37 km ESE of Nelson, Canada
• M 2.5 — 2020-01-10
  26 km E of Nelson, Canada