The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Ionia was originally called Ionia City, and under the latter name was platted in 1866. A post office called Ionia City was established in 1867, and the name was changed to Ionia in 1895. The community most likely was named after the Ionic order in Freemasonry.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Be one of the first
Start Ionia’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ionia’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10By decade
Ionia, decade by decade
Before
2000
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your albumNational Register of Historic Places
Nothing in Ionia is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Ionia has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Grant School in Ionia, 3.6 miles away.
Ionia and the nearest listed places
Dashed line = Ionia. Tap a dot.
How a place gets listed
1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Grant School’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Ionia?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Ionia’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old placeNational Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.