Preston Castle

The state of California sold this building to the people trying to save it for one dollar.

Preston Castle stands above Ione in Amador County, and it is the most significant example of Romanesque Revival architecture in the Mother Lode. It was proposed by, and named after, state senator Edward Myers Preston. The cornerstone went down in December 1890, and the Preston School of Industry opened in June 1894 when seven wards were transferred up from San Quentin. Wards were minors under the guardianship of the state, which did not necessarily mean they had committed a crime. The school became one of the oldest and best known reform institutions in the country.

The Castle itself was vacated in 1960, once new buildings had gone up to replace it. Those newer buildings carried the institution on, renamed the Preston Youth Correctional Facility in 1999, until the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced the closure in 2010 and held the closing ceremony on 2 June 2011.

The old building spent those decades emptying out. It is California Historical Landmark 867 and it is on the National Register of Historic Places, with a wider listing covering most of the historic facility approved in 2024. It is also, as of 2024, in considerable disrepair. The Preston Castle Foundation bought it from the state in 2014 for a single dollar and has been restoring it ever since. The estimated full cost of repairs runs as high as 45 million dollars.

You can go inside. The tour season runs April to August. Self guided tours take about 90 minutes, and guided tours run an hour and a half with a docent through the first floor, the second floor and the basement. The Foundation also runs public paranormal investigations, which is a large part of what pays for the restoration.

Film crews found it early. It played the Bleeding Heart Orphanage in a 1984 comedy, and Ghost Adventures, Ghost Hunters and The Lowe Files have each filmed an episode here.