Ione, Nevada, USA

One of the earliest silver camps, just after the Comstock Lode in the 1860s, while the US Civil War was still raging. As the sign implies, towns vying for the county seat was a common phenomenon in the early days--not only did it bring government jobs to town, but with the transportation technology of the time, it could be _very_ important to be near the courthouse for filing/contesting claims and such. As late as 1979 Austin, NV lost the county seat of Lander County to Battle Mountain.

Unlike so many other camps, Ione's never quite dried up. With the run-up in precious metal prices in recent years, there's new activity in the area.

The name is locally pronounced "eye-own", btw.