Mancos, Colorado

A Brief History of Mancos

By 1881, Mancos had a small cluster of cabins, a store and a schoolhouse, serving a valley where farming, cattle raising and sawmilling developed alongside prospecting in the nearby La Plata Mountains. Education became a lasting part of the town’s civic life. In 1909, Mancos High School was constructed with locally quarried, hand-cut sandstone. A gymnasium and auditorium added in 1920 gave residents a gathering place for public meetings, basketball, performances and adult classes. The building’s educational and community roles, together with its local stone craftsmanship, are documented in its National Register nomination.