Mancos, Colorado
| Town of Mancos, Colorado | |
|---|---|
| Statutory Town | |
| Nickname(s): Gateway to Mesa Verde | |
 Location in Montezuma County and the state of Colorado |
|
| Coordinates: 37°20′44″N 108°17′33″W / 37.34556°N 108.29250°WCoordinates: 37°20′44″N 108°17′33″W / 37.34556°N 108.29250°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State |
 Colorado
|
| County | Montezuma |
| Founded | 1894 |
| Incorporated (town) | November 30, 1894 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Statutory Town |
| • Mayor | Queenie Barz |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.6 sq mi (1.5 km2) |
| • Land | 0.6 sq mi (1.5 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 7,028 ft (2,142 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 1,336 |
| • Density | 2,200/sq mi (890/km2) |
| Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| ZIP code | 81328 |
| Area code(s) | 970 |
| FIPS code | 08-48115 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0179088 |
| Website | Town of Mancos |
The Town of Mancos is a Statutory Town located in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,336 at the 2010 United States 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 Montezuma County. It is served by U.S. Highway 160 and State Highway 184.
The Mancos Valley has been settled since at least the 10th century, although various severe conditions in the mid to late 13th century saw the area and its multitude of small villages abandoned by the Ancient Pueblo People (Anasazi). The Mancos area is dotted with inventoried and uninventoried archeological sites, including both isolated houses and shelters and small village complexes. Mancos Valley residents were probably among those who withdrew to the cliff dwellings on Mesa Verde, perhaps for defensive purposes, due to climate change, or as part of concentration policy of possible invaders and occupiers of the region.
Archaeological sites of the Ancient Pueblo period include:
Control of the area 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 New Mexico and California in the 18th century. The name "Mancos" comes from the Dominguez–Escalante Expedition of 1776, though the reason for the name remains unclear (see below). By some unverified accounts, the name Mancos refers to the crippled nature of the Spanish explorers' horses after they crossed the San Juan Mountains. According to unverified lore, the horses were rejuvenated by the lush green grass in the Mancos Valley. Somewhere in the town is the point at which the expedition crossed the Rio Mancos on its way to California from Old Mexico.
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