Historical Marker · No. 506
Methodist Episcopal Church
Ione, Amador County · California
Erected by the State Department of Parks and Recreation in cooperation with the Amador County Historical Society and the Ione Community United Methodist Church, 1970
This building has been called four things and the plaque carries three of them. The cornerstone went down in 1862 and the church was finished in 1866 out of locally fired brick. It was dedicated as the Ione City Centenary Church, came to be known as the Cathedral of the Mother Lode, and is cast here as the Methodist Episcopal Church; the state's register files it as the Community Methodist Church of Ione. The bronze is fixed to a serpentine boulder.
What the plaque says
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH THE CORNERSTONE WAS LAID IN 1862. CONSTRUCTED OF LOCALLY FIRED BRICK, THE CHURCH WAS COMPLETED IN 1866. DEDICATED AS "IONE CITY CENTENARY CHURCH" AND LATER POPULARLY KNOWN AS THE "CATHEDRAL OF THE MOTHER LODE." THE CHURCH WAS THE FIRST TO SERVE THE RELIGIOUS NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE IN THE AREA. CALIFORNIA REGISTERED HISTORICAL LANDMARK NO. 506 PLAQUE PLACED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION IN COOPERATION WITH THE AMADOR COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE IONE COMMUNITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, JUNE 7, 1970.
Where it stands
38.35063, -120.93085 · Directions
More markers nearby
- Daniel Stewart Co. Store — steps away
- Preston Castle — 1.5 mi
- Drytown — 7.5 mi
- Sutter Creek — 7.5 mi