The internet gods recently smiled down on us! Somehow, a picture of a stone house in Sparks, Nevada magically appeared onscreen. It’s beautiful house and according to the post, it’s located on the Truckee River outside of Sparks, Nevada.
We’d like an upclose and personal look at this cutie. Hopefully, if we saw the house in person, we could determine whether or not the area’s Native American stonemasons constructed it. Even if the craftsmanship is not Native American, it’s still an outsanding stone house, worthy of a field trip. Small problem: We don’t know where the house is located. We’re willing to go on an expedition, if only we knew where it is!
It could be Native American. After all, Sparks is only 30 miles north of the Stewart Indian School where many of the area’s Native American stonemasons were trained.
We’ve been looking for the house – sorta. We’ve been performing our searches via the magic of Google Earth. With no luck! Drat! We’re all about going out and searching along the river. We just need a starting point.
So, if anybody has an idea of where this house is, please let us know. And, yes, we know that with all the construction in the area, there is a chance that the house has been demolished in the name of progress. If that is the case, that would be a tragedy.
On the west side of Carson City, there are six, large pink stone columns built by Randall Wungnema.
These columns are located at Washington & Richmond Streets; Robinson & Richmond Streets and Telegraph & Richmond Streets. And if you look closely, just behind the Robinson Street columns, you will see a pink stone gate post. We think it was built by Randall at the same time as the columns.
And we have questions – was there stone left over, just enough for a gate post? And that’s why the gate post is there? Or was there a fence after the gate post? A fence that has disappeared into the mists of time Should anybody know the answers to these questions, please let us know!
Much of the stone used in these columns came from Wungnema Family’s quarries located along the Carson River in east Carson City,
When they were growing up, Randall’s children – and many of Carson’s residents – thought the “W” on the pillars stood for Wungnema, while others thought the “W” stood for Westside. Really, the “W” stands for Winters as in JohnD Winters for whom the Winters Ranch Homes development is named.
While JohnD contributed much to the history of Nevada and Carson City, there is something charming to the “W is for Wungnema” story and that’s the one we’re going with!
The house at the end of the street was orignally JohnD Winters.
If you have a chance, take a drive on the west side and check out these beauties. You’ll notice that 60 plus years in, they are still gorgeous and stand as a testament to Randall Wungnema’s abilities as a master stonemason
No, we don’t have two cats in the window. Just a Chihuahua on the couch.
And, we have a stone house. Yes, finally!
A stone house that was built by the Native American stonemasons from the Stewart Indian School (Stewart). This cutie was built in 1937 and the original (current) owner worked with the stone masons to select every stone that was used in the construction of the house.
We noticed that many of the stone types used in the construction of our house were also used in the construction of Moon Dune House, which lends credence to our feeling that Moon Dune was built by the Native American stonemasons from Stewart.
And guess what! The people who built our house knew the family who built Moon Dune House. Talk about a small world!
While not a large house (approximately 800 square feet ), the design is such that the house feels larger. One of the features is a built-in ironing board. We may just have to spring for an iron and some wrinkled clothes. Just saying!
The house does not have central heating, instead, a gas stove keeps the house toasty! Due to the stone insulation, the stove does not have to be kept on constantly – stone keeps the house, oh, so warm! And during the nasty weather, that’s a bonus!! The dog enjoys laying in front of the stove, toasting his buns!
The warm glow of the gas stove added to the ambience of the house makes it quite cozy on a rainy day or cold, wintery night.
Next to us is another stone house, also built by the lady who commissioned our house. The story goes, her family grew too large for the house. So, another house was built immediately adjacent to our house. Apparently, there had been talk about joining the two both houses to into one large house. Sadly, that did not happen. Imagine what a beauty such a house would have been! On the brighter side, both houses are here, utilitarian and beautiful! A testament to the craftsmen ship of the area’s Native American stonemasons! And to the foresight of the woman who built these homes!
The Deer Stand
Our house used to be the last one on the east side of Carson City. Not no more. Due to its “remote” location in the early days, the family erected a deer stand and used it to dress the deer they hunted.
We still have deer in the neighborhood – in fact, they nest in our yard at night. The deer are quite interested in our small dog and want to play with the little guy. We are hesitant to allow such play due to the size difference.
Play time
This is a great house – many people in the community have commented on how lucky our family is to live in it. We agree.
This fall, we were invited by Pierre Robert to visit with him at his beautiful house at Lake Tahoe. Moon Dune House was built by the area’s Native American stonemasons and Pierre was passionate about the house. Pierre was especially interested in the stonemasons and how his grandparents might have come to hire them to build Moon Dune House.
Pierre hoped that together we could come up with a solution for saving the house from developers should he die.
Sadly, Pierre died shortly thereafter and we were unable to fulfill our promise to him to help him protect Moon Dune, the house he had loved for his whole life. However, our promise stands to his family should they decide to keep the house in the family.
He was a kind and gentle man who shared his passions for music, life, his family and Moon Dune House with us. To say his knowledge of early day Lake Tahoe was encyclopedic would be an understatement! Too soon the hours flew by and he had to hurry to catch his flight back to Philadelphia.
Our condolences to his family, especially his sister Clarisse. Please keep Pierre in your thoughts.
Update: We’ve written about this house before. This beauty is on Pratt Street in Carson City. Sadly, she needs some TLC as she’s been abandoned, taken over by the city and then, apparently, sold to a non-profit.
Approximately a year ago, the neighbors noticed squatters using the property. What gave the squatters away? Well, there were clues: doors and windows were open, people coming and going from an abandoned property, trash in the yard and clothes hanging from the trees. This did not sit well with the neighbors and they called the authorities. The city moved swiftly and had all the trees and vegetation removed from the property.
Then, job well-done, the property sat vacant for a year. In September of this year, the neighbors noticed the squatters had again moved into the house. Once again, the doors & windows were open, people coming and going, the trash and clothes strewn about the yard.
This move-in upset all the neighbors save one. This guy did not mind the squatters as they were feeding snacks to his cats. They were even having sleepovers with the cats! So, when one of the neighbors reported the squatters to the city, this man was not pleased. Too bad, so sad.
Who knows what mischief the rent thieves were up to in the house? Fires in the fireplace? A fireplace that hadn’t been used in 20 plus years. Using bathrooms with no running water? The list is endless.
Once the squatters were reported, the city, or whoever owned the property, moved swiftly – all personal possessions were placed on the curb, while the windows and doors were immediately boarded over. It appeared that the house was safe and sound, for now.
A couple weekends ago we made a point to visit the house to see what if anything was happening to it. That’s when we noticed that the cover for the crawl space had been forced open and that the cats were once again keeping company with the trespassers in this little hidey-hole
This is a beautiful house, which research indicates is now owned by a non-profit (according to city records), who, apparently, is not doing a thing with the house. Our offer still stands, we’d like to purchase the house and bring it up to snuff. If not us, then another like-minded individual who would love and cherish the house.
If not used for a residence, this house would make a great office for a non-profit. The bedrooms could be used for offices, the kitchen for refreshments, while the living room could be used as the reception area. At least, that’s what we think.
However, the neighbor with the sleep-over cats wants the property torn down with a multi-unit apartment building replacing it. He has no sense of history. Anybody have other thoughts on how the house could be re-purposed? We’d like to hear those thoughts.
We’ll keep an eye on the house and report backs as developments warrant.
