Caroline Street Cutie

Posted on November 13, 2022 by Native Stonework

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.

front of house
Back of the house – glorious with all the foliage
The fireplace – note the niche & the vents.
Both features Ernest was known to create
The fall colors enhance the beauty of the stonework.
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More Pratt Avenue

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Native Stonework

Pratt Street – This street has an additional stone house, a house that used to have a stone facade and a house that used to feature a pink stone fireplace. Let’s take a look at them!

According to the Carson City Assessor’s office, this house was built in 1910 and was constructed in the Stewart Vernacular Style of Architecture as were many of the stone homes of that era.

So cute and so tiny. Imagine raising a family in this wee house – it was done, back in the day! This is one of the earliest examples of a pink stone house we could find.

Uncle Jimmy’s house before the fire.
Note the craftsmanship in the fireplace.

Uncle Jimmy’s house on Pratt Avenue and featured a stone fireplace constructed by the stonemasons from the Stewart Indian School in in 1920. This house caught fire in December 2016. During the rebuilding process, the fireplace was removed.

It’s not known whether or not the fireplace will be rebuilt as Uncle Jimmy wanted to sell/return the pink stones back to the Wungnema Family. The family refused. After all, who refunds a purchase 100 years after the purchase was made?

After rebuilding
During the demolition process – part of the fireplace remains and the stones were piled up in the left of the photo.
Years later, the stones are still in the yard (see left side of photograph)

This last house on Pratt was built in 1963 and featured a stone facade in the front. The stone, Wonder Stone, was quarried in Fallon, Nevada. The facade is the work of Don Talas, a Native American master stone mason.

Before – with the Wonder Stone facade

During the Lockdown of 2020 – 2021, the house underwent renovation and in the process, the stone facade was removed. This made us sad as that was a piece of Nevada history lost forever. Hopefully, the stone was repurposed for a walkway or patio in the backyard.

After – without the Wonder stone facade
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South Pratt Avenue

Posted on July 9, 2022 by Native Stonework

This house in Carson City was built in 1934 in the Stewart Vernacular style of masonry. As with the other stone houses on the street, it was built by the master and student stonemasons from the Stewart Indian School.

The house features 3 bedrooms & 1.75 bathrooms, making it bigger than the other homes on the street. It sold in 2001 for $135,000.00 and in 2017 for approximately $660,000.00. It’s on the market again and is yours for only $364,000.00! What a deal considering it comes with a large lot!

In the 2017 listing, the realtor noted that it had no value and should be considered a tear down. We disagreed at that time as it was constructed by local Native American stonemasons, making it an important part of Nevada’s history.

Fortunately, the buyer disagreed with the realtor’s assessment of the property and proceeded to rent the home in 2018 – we attempted to rent it, however, the owner told us that our family wasn’t large enough to warrant a house this spacious!

Front of the house
Close up of the front. Note the shape of the front door
Brick fireplace that replaced the stone fireplace

For unknown reasons, one of the past owners removed the stonework fireplace and replaced it with painted brick. A stone fireplace could be re-built – there are still Rhyolite quarries in Carson City and members of Wungnema Family are still practicing stonemasons!

A stone fireplace built by Native American stonemasons, one that matches the outside of the house – wouldn’t that be cool?

Currently, the house is in need of a little TLC. Imagine how the house would look all spruced up. Just gorgeous, that’s how it would look!

Side view of house
Backyard – note the fire pit on the right hand side of the yard

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North Stewart Street

Posted on July 9, 2022 by Native Stonework

This house was completed in 1949 and was constructed in the manner of the Stewart Vernacular Style of Architecture. We believe that the master and student stonemasons at the Stewart Indian School built this house.

It’s a tad bid different than other examples of Native stonework as it is a duplex with a ground level apartment and a 2nd story apartment. Isn’t it gorgeous? The 2nd story apartment features a fireplace. We’re not sure why the 1st story was denied a fireplace and we cannot find anyone who knows the history of the house. If you know why only half the house has a fireplace, please share!

There is a large vacant lot to the north of this house – we think it would be great to buy it and then enlarge the yard. A pink stone house with a large yard would be perfect!

North Stewart Street House
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Secret Garden

Posted on July 9, 2022 by Native Stonework

Due to its proximity to the Stewart Indian School, Carson City has many fine examples of the masonry created by the Native American stonemasons teaching, working or studying at the school.  These examples include homes, fireplaces and landscape features, some big, some little.

The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden is an example of using Rhyolite for landscaping. We’re not telling you exactly where – we want you to find t! It is located somewhere on Curry Street (between Robinson and 2nd Streets), the SG is small, yet charming.  The shrubs and flowers are surrounded by pieces of Rhyolite giving the garden a sense of serenity and peace. Find it and give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done!

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