Chamber of Commerce members and the town cooperated in an effort to keep a local small business in Mancos. Nathaniels of Colorado, a Chamber of Commerce member, needs to move out of the Bauer Bank Building. In years past, Nathanial Funmaker had run his hat making business in the two-story building across the street from the Mancos Inn.
He talked with Kent Rath, also a Chamber member and owner of both the Mancos Inn and the structure across the street. They decided that relocating Nathaniels to his former worksite would be a good business idea. However, the historic jail blocked the view of the building and would therefore have a negative impact on business traffic to Nathaniels new location.
This is when Rath and Funmaker approached the Town of Mancos about relocating the jail back to Boyle Park. The jail, at one time, was in the park, so it is right at home there. The Town agreed to the plan. According to Funmaker, Rath deserves a lot of thanks because he funded the project. Kent Rath shrugged off the compliment with, Hey, this is a win-win for me and Nate. Well get some French doors on the south side of that old building and give Nate some Grand Avenue exposure. He looks forward to seeing more business activity on the west end of Grand Avenue business district as a result.
Rath hired local folks to move the building Stan Lowe of 4 Corners Crane and Steve Klumker of Lazy K Enterprises, for his flatbed trailer. You can find the jail across the street from the Mancos Visitor Center.
