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===19th and 20th century=== {{More citations needed section|date=October 2021}} The [[Old Spanish Trail (trade route)|Old Spanish Trail trade route]] passed through the area of Mancos from 1829 into the 1850s. 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, providing cattle to the mining camps of the [[San Juan Mountains|San Juan]] and [[La Plata Mountains|La Plata]] ranges. Today, the boundary of the [[Ute Mountain Ute Tribe#Reservation|Ute Mountain Indian Reservation]] is located some {{convert|6|mi|0}} 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, Colorado|Dolores]] to the northwest. At that time, [[Cortez, Colorado|Cortez]], now the county seat, was barely a bend in the wagon trail. In the 1890s, Mancos was platted and built as a stop along the [[Rio Grande Southern Railroad]] built by [[Otto Mears]] - Colorado's southwestern railroad pathfinder, connecting [[Durango, Colorado|Durango]] to the east and the [[Telluride, Colorado|Telluride]] mining districts to the north, via Dolores. Ranchers in the Mancos Valley continued to provide beef, timber, and other agricultural products to the mining camps. Following this, [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Latter-day Saints]] colonists moved into the area and established farms and small communities such as Weber and Cherry Creek. Local farmers and ranchers began constructing [[irrigation]] canals to bring water from the Mancos River to cropland and pasture in various parts of the Mancos Valley in the late 1870s and 1880s, and by the beginning of the 20th century a large network of irrigation ditches and laterals was operating and continues to operate (with improvements) today. In the mid-2000s, a large project, the [[Mancos Valley Salinity Control Project]], was funded by various sources, including the [[US Bureau of Reclamation]], the [[Natural Resources Conservation Service]], and local irrigation and water companies and districts. The project, nearly complete in 2010, includes replacing many open irrigation ditches with piping to conserve water and prevent salt contamination from infiltration and evaporation of irrigation water. Many of the original irrigation ditches have been determined to be eligible for the [[National Register of Historic Places]], together with various archeological sites. Incorporated in 1894, Mancos town government quickly asserted itself, banning fast riding and driving (of wagons) in town the next year, as well as building boardwalks. A water system and electrical system were constructed in 1904, followed by a new bridge across the river in 1905 and concrete sidewalks in 1909. However, most side streets of the town remain unpaved. The abandonment of the railroad in the 1950s allowed [[U.S. Route 160|US 160]] to be rerouted to follow the present Railroad Avenue, leaving Grand Avenue, the town's main street, as a business route; an earlier route of US 160 is now County Road J, south of the river and most of the town. The establishment of Mesa Verde National Park also encouraged early growth of Mancos. Several Mancos sites from about the turn of the 20th century are listed on the state or national register of historic places. The first two are on the [[Colorado State Register of Historic Properties]], the remaining are on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]:<ref name=CHS/> * The [[Bauer Bank Block|Bauer Bank Building]], built in 1905, is the oldest surviving [[masonry]] building in the Mancos Valley.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bauer Bank Building {{!}} History Colorado |url=https://www.historycolorado.org/location/bauer-bank-building |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=www.historycolorado.org}}</ref> * The Bauer House was built in 1889 for George Bauer, a Mancos pioneer merchant who built the town's first store in 1881, a banker, and a stonemason.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bauer House {{!}} History Colorado |url=https://www.historycolorado.org/location/bauer-house |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=www.historycolorado.org}}</ref> * [[Mancos High School]], built in 1909 of local sandstone, was the first high school in the county. * The [[Mancos Opera House]] was completed in 1910. * The [[Wrightsman House]] was built in 1903 of late Victorian architecture. Attempts to create a separate Mancos County from the eastern portion of Montezuma County in the mid-20th century failed. Agricultural development, and to a certain extent, tourism, benefited from the Mancos Project of the US Bureau of Reclamation in the 1950s, which created Jackson Reservoir north of the town, today the site of [[Mancos State Park]]. This project also supplies water for the town, a rural water district, and Mesa Verde National Park. In recent years the growth of [[Durango, Colorado|Durango]] has spread to Mancos, making the town something of an [[art colony]]. [[Aramark]], the [[concession (contract)|concessionaire]] for Mesa Verde National Park, has facilities in the town, and there is a specialty [[Populus tremuloides|aspen]] sawmill ([[Western Excelsior]]) and other small industrial enterprises. Numerous events are held in the town each year, including Mancos Days the last weekend in July, a motorcycle rally over [[Labor Day]] weekend, and a balloon festival in September. Much of the farm and ranch land in the Mancos Valley has been subdivided into rural residential and "hobby ranch" properties in recent years, as is happening in much of Montezuma County. Several major subdivisions immediately adjacent to Mancos are in various stages of development and are expected to greatly increase the town's population by 2015, despite some slowdown due to economic conditions. The Mancos Library District constructed a new public library in 2008, located on a former electrical generating station site south of the Mancos River. Most recent new businesses and business activity are occurring outside the corporate limits of the town, in Montezuma County jurisdiction. In 2007β2010, there have been numerous controversial approvals of new commercial developments, including mail-order firms, sand and gravel pits, ready-mix plants and hot-mix asphalt facilities, by the Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners.
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