Mancos, Colorado

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Mancos is a town in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,119 at the 2000 census.

The Town of Mancos is located in southwestern Colorado, near the Four Corners, at the base of Mesa Verde National Park, and holds the trademark for "Gateway to Mesa Verde." Surrounded by rangeland and mountains, Mancos offers a variety of outdoor recreational activities. The Town was founded in 1894, near the site where early Spanish explorers first crossed the Mancos River. It is the commercial center for east Montezuma County, and was considered at one time as a county seat for Mancos County. It is served by US Highway 160 and CO Highway 184.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] History

The Mancos Valley has been settled since at least the 900s, although various severe conditions in the mid to late 1200s saw the area abandoned by the Anasazi, and it was contested by nomadic Navajo and Ute for centuries. Spanish friars and military passed through the area as part of the Old Spanish Trail connecting Nuevo Mexico and Alta California, in the 1700s. The name “Mancos” comes from the famous Dominguez-Escalante Expedition of 1776, though the reason for the name remains unclear (see below). Somewhere in the town is the point at which the Expedition crossed the Rio Mancos on its way to California from Old Mexico. Part of the original Ute Reservation in 1868, Mancos was part of the San Juan Cession of 1873, and cattle ranchers began settling the Mancos Valley in the 1870s. Today, the boundary of the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation is located some six miles south of town. At the time it was founded, Mancos served as the primary commercial trading center for eastern Montezuma County, rivaling the Town of Dolores further north. At that time, the City of Cortez, now the County seat, was barely a bend in the wagon trail. In the 1890s, Mancos was built as a stop along the Denver, Rio Grande & Southern Railway, connecting to Durango to the east, and to the Telluride mining districts up north, via Dolores. Ranchers in the Mancos Valley provided beef, timber, and other agricultural products to the mining camps. Following this, LDS colonists moved into the area and established farms and small communities; in recent years the growth of Durango has spread to Mancos, making the town something of an art colony. Aramark, the concessionaire for Mesa Verde, has facilities in the town, and there is a specialty aspen sawmill and other small industrial enterprises. The community is eclectic, and several civic leaders are openly homosexual: the community is known for its tolerance.[1] Numerous events are held in the town each year, including a balloon festival in September.

[edit] Geography

Mancos is located at 37°20′44″N, 108°17′33″W (37.345420, -108.292412)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.5 km² (0.6 mi²), all land.

Mancos is located in the Mancos Valley at an elevation of approximately 7,000. The river was named by Spanish explorers (Rio de los Mancos - River of the Sleeve) perhaps for the way the river, which rises in the La Plata Mountains northeast of Mancos, drains the Valley and then flows into the narrow confines of Weber Canyon and Mancos Canyon, southwest of Mesa Verde, where it joins the San Juan River. The town's skyline is dominated by the mass of Mesa Verde to the west, Menefee Mountain to the southeast, and the La Platas.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,119 people, 478 households, and 292 families residing in the town. The population density was 744.9/km² (1,938.4/mi²). There were 524 housing units at an average density of 348.8/km² (907.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 88.65% White, 2.23% Native American, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 7.86% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.42% of the population.

There were 478 households out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 93.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $25,223, and the median income for a family was $32,188. Males had a median income of $27,708 versus $17,292 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,946. About 11.8% of families and 16.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 15.5% of those age 65 or over.