[1] It is located on the Southern Pacific Railroad 6 miles (9.7 km) west-southwest of Le Grand,[2] at an elevation of 207 feet (63 m).

[2] Athlone was platted in 1873, soon after completion of the railroad through the San Joaquin Valley, and was at first named Plainsburg Station.

The town was renamed after an Irish immigrant named James Gilhane opened a saloon called Athlone House, named after the Irish town of Athlone, in County Westmeath.

The town had a number of businesses and even a normal school for a brief period around the turn of the twentieth century.

However, the main economic activities were cattle ranching and wheat farming.