Manzanola

Manzanola is a small town off of Highway 50 between Fowler and Rocky Ford. There are 434 people here who call Manzanola home, about 50% white and 50% Hispanic. Since this area of Colorado is known for growing a large amount of crops, especially melons, some of the townspeople work in agriculture. The majority however work in retail, followed by accommodation & food services, then transportation. The median household income in Manzanola is $21,390, so more than 60% of this town is living below the poverty rate. The median average home price here is also well below the state average and costs $49,978. Since there are no real businesses to employ the residents here, many of them have to travel to nearby towns. Both Fowler and Rocky Ford are larger, with Rocky Ford having almost 4,000 residents. The nearest big town is Pueblo which is almost an hour away.

The schools in Manzanola rate just below average when it comes to state testing standards. The school buildings here are pretty small and older. There are some neat older buildings to look at in this town, but there are also a lot of them that have been abandoned. Many years ago people came out west to search for gold and there was some mining in Manzanola, but the mines eventually closed down. There was a canning company that employed many residents during the early 1900s but when that left so did most of the residents. The town has never really recovered from this.

Overall, I have to admit that I don't understand why people would want to stay here. With nothing to do and virtually no jobs, I would think they would leave in search of better opportunities which can be found less than an hour away.