This stone cutie is located on Carson City’s historic Westside and was built in 1939 by Ernest Wungnema.
Ernest was a master stonemason and his creations are a testament to his creativity and ingenuity. Ernest was also an masonry instructor at the Stewart Indian School (SIS) south of Carson City. The house reminds us of the buildings on the SIS campus which were created in the Stewart Vernacular Style of Masonry.
The house features two fireplaces – one in the front room and one in the bedroom. There was a fire in the chimney of the bedroom fireplace resulting in the fireplace being covered with sheet rock. The chimney was repaired with brick. Why? Good question. Nobody seems to know the reason for this repair especially as members of the Wungnema Family continue the family tradition of stone masonry.
The house was totally refurbished in 2016. Thankfully, the fireplace in the front room was retained by the homeowner during the renovation.
Both features Ernest was known to create
