This little gem sits somewhere in Carson City. Where? Well, that’s a secret. The homeowners made us promise to not reveal its location. And, that’s a promise we intend to keep!
The Hidden House
What we do know is that the original owner contracted with officials at the Stewart Indian School in the late 1950s or early 1960s – seems the owner wanted the house built by the trade students at the school. When we say trade, we mean the electrical, plumbing, black smithing, carpentry and masonry students.
We know that members of the Wungnema Family (Randall Wungnema for one) took the lead on the stone work ( If you look closely, you can see a piece or two of Turquoise in the front wall of the pump house!). And there is quite a bit of stonework – the house with the fire place, the surrounding wall and the pump house. The finished work, the hard work by all the students, is gorgeous!
Our copy of the hunt arrived on Wednesday and come Sunday, we were on the campus of the Stewart Indian School (SIS) fully engaged in the hunt. The hunt took approximately two hours to complete. Two hours that were so enjoyable, we hardly noticed the time!
We came prepared for the hunt: we had our copies of the hunt, bottles of water, hats and, of course, cameras. We thoroughly enjoy activities such as the scavenger hunt, so call us nerds if you must! However, what surprised us was how much fun we had on this hunt! And truth be told, we became a little competitive with one another – who could find a specific stone first?
We have a few observations about the hunt – first take a clipboard, it will make jotting down your answers so much easier. Then, the pictures aren’t to scale and that threw us off at first. Finally, the directions were ambiguous – the instructions might say a stone was on the SE corner of a building, when in fact, the stone might be on the east side of that building. Once we took those factors into consideration and made the necessary mental adjustments, the clues fell into place and we had no trouble finding the stones!
First stop was the Stewart Cultural Center, currently undergoing a renovation using monies allotted by the 2017 Nevada Legislature.
Stewart Cultural Center, now (Photo Stewartindianschool.com)
While the Cultural Center was surrounded by a chain link fence (which meant we couldn’t get too close to the building), the stones listed in the hunt were easy to spot and quickly marked off the hunt! As we walked the campus, we were again struck by its beauty. Usually, we are on the grounds of Stewart during the week, when there’s a high influx of employees and visitors. On a Sunday, the campus is quiet, making it so much easier to appreciate these buildings and the Native American stonemasons who built them and the Native American students who attended classes or lived in them.
The Quad
Midway through the hunt, we stopped to rest and plan the remainder of our route. And we found the perfect spot at a table under the giant trees right across from the Quad (which, despite the name, has five buildings, not four!). There, we met a nice couple from Arizona – Henrietta and Jesse.
As we were chatting with them, we learned that they had been in the last class to graduate from SIS and this was the first time they been back on the campus since they graduated.
We talked about the old gym. Jesse had fond memories of the gym where he and his friends went for recreation. We told them that we have a picture of the gym when it was under construction and that in the foreground of the picture are two men; two men whose identities are unknown. Both Henrietta and Jesse thought the men could be spirits and, thus, not identifiable.
Spirits?
They told us that the school had spirits, had always had spirits. They were adamant that SIS isn’t haunted, never was haunted. There have always been spirits on the school grounds that are not mean, not interested in haunting – these spirits are gentle souls who only wanted to make their presence known. And who liked to play pranks on the humans. So, maybe, just maybe, the gym picture was of two spirits, not two humans. We liked the idea of gentle, playful spirits being on campus, keeping one and all company. And we really liked the thought that the picture was of spirits!
Henrietta told us that the federal government used the same set of building plans for all of the Indian schools in this country, resulting in all of the schools having the same layout and physical characteristics. Using the same plans save the government time and money. Who would have thought that the federal government was so practical?
Henrietta and Jesse shared stories about life at the school, how they worked at the Hyatt at Lake Tahoe over the weekends to earn spending money. The Hyatt would send a shuttle down from the Lake on Friday afternoon for the students. The boys worked outside or on building maintenance while the girls worked as maids or as waitresses. The students were then shuttled back to Stewart late Sunday afternoon.
We chatted about the auditorium. Henrietta pointed out that the initials CIS were engraved in the stone over the auditorium’s door. While the school is best known as the Stewart Indian School, it has also been called by other names including Carson Indian School (CIS), Carson Industrial School (CIS) or the Stewart Institute. Well, we were amazed – we hadn’t noticed those initials when we were looking at the stones used in the construction of the auditorium. Damn!
Nevada’s first senator, William M. Stewart, was instrumental in obtaining the funding required to open SIS. When the school opened on December 17, 1890. It was named in his honor. It has also been known as Stewart Institute, Carson Industrial School, and Carson Indian School.
Sadly, it was time for Henrietta and Jesse to leave. We thanked them for their time and stories. We headed to the west side of the grounds to complete the hunt. Many of the buildings we encountered were boarded up and looked unloved, while other buildings are being used by governmental agencies.
The State of Nevada has not allocated sufficient money to renovate these buildings. We understand, the state’s still feeling the effects of the Great Recession and there are so many state agencies that require funding. Plus, there’s a certain skill set required to work with these stones. SIS closed in 1980, so many of the stone masons trained at the school are probably considering retirement, plus, its quite probable that many of the stone masons trained at the school have returned to their home states.
We have heard whispers that the State of Nevada wants to renovate the dormitories and the cafeteria. As in many situations, the hold-up is money. It would take a great deal of money to renovate the buildings and bring them to code. Money the state does not have at present.
Once renovated, the rooms could be rented to over night visitors who would be able to take their meals in the cafeteria, which still has all of its original kitchen equipment. Perhaps, the cafeteria could focus on Native American cuisine.
The kitchen and bakery has the capacity to feed 500 students and staff three times a day. So, it seems that between the kitchen, bakery, dining room and dorms, at least that many tourists could be accommodated daily.
1946 Stewart Indian School Yearbook
A complete renovation would turn these facilities in a destination resort and generate revenue for the school as well as publicizing the school, it’s history and future.
Here’s an idea: officials at Stewart could team with, say, the Harrah College of Hospitality, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) (https://www.unlv.edu/hospitality) for a portion of the staffing required to operate such an undertaking. It could be a win-win situation for all parties!
The UNLV students would receive hands-on training in a significantly historic setting and, hopefully, college credit for their work. Naturally, we think that the Native American students should receive preferential placement opportunities this hands-on training. SIS would have the benefit of employees specializing in hospitality-hotel management managing and operating the facility
Perhaps, we could even engage the assistance from UNLV’s high profile alumni (Hello Guy Fieri!) in developing and promoting a hospitality program at Stewart. The money collected from room rentals and meals could be used to offset upkeep and maintenance of these fabulous stone creations. Think about the benefits for all parties!
Once we had successfully identified every stone in the scavenger hunt, it was time for us to leave. And we did so reluctantly. We had a great time, met the nicest couple ever and learned a thing or two. Who could ask for more?
If you have the time, we urge you to order your own copy of this scavenger hunt and spend a couple of hours on beautiful grounds of the Stewart Indian School. It’s time well spent! If you do complete the scavenger hunt, let us know what you think about the hunt and whether or not you enjoyed it! Our email is nativestonework@gmail.com.
Here are some other photographs we took on the Scavenger Hunt!
This two-car garage is on the west side of Center Street bordering the Stewart Campus. We took these photos in October of 2018 and are now sharing them with one and all. It was a bright and sunny day. We were headed towards Minden, and taking the back way, when we saw the door of this building open. The garage sits directly across from the football field and track.
Being curious (some might say nosy!), we stopped. It was the perfect time for a photo op. We took the interior shot by inserting the camera through the door and using the flash option. After all, we didn’t want to be accused of trespassing. All the windows on this beautiful building are broken out and boarded over. The interior has been gutted.
interior of garage
We could not find this garage listed on the map included the application for inclusion of SIS on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
Some might consider this garage to be insignificant compared to the other buildings on the campus. We don’t – we consider each and every building on the grounds to be worthy of restoration.
We realize money is tight; however, start small and work towards restoring the bigger buildings. If people could see a couple small buildings restored, they might be inclined to donate towards the restoration of the larger buildings. Or, the small building restoration might make it easier to obtain grant money for the larger buildings. Just saying…
Boarded up windows on the garage
Note the masonry work on the corners of the garage
This two-car garage sits to the north of the dairy barn on the campus of the Stewart Indian Schoo (SIS). Its building 108 on the map included the application for inclusion of SIS on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The garage has been fenced off and covered with plastic sheeting since 2001.
Front view of the fenced garage
According to a Nevada Appeal story on December 20, 2001 (https://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/2001/dec/20/director-fears-stewart-building-will-be-torn-down/), there were plans to demolish the building. These plans were made despite the fact that the SIS is listed on the NRHP since 1985.
The then director of the Stewart Indian Museum Sheila Abbe, had concerns about the building being demolished despite it being “among the least impressive of Stewart’s structures.” She felt that would set a precedent and would allow any building on the Stewart Campus to be torn down for any reason.
Side view of the fenced garage
The building was one of many at SIS that had been used for training purposes by local law enforcement agencies. Ms. Abbe did not approve of this practice and we believe that due to her efforts, the law enforcement training programs on the Stewart Campus were discontinued.
A memo was issued on April 10, 2001, by state building and grounds administrator Mike Meizel, and then tacked to the doors of Stewart’s buildings.
The memo read:”To all law enforcement agencies:
“Effective immediately, the buildings at the Stewart facility will no longer be used for raid, SWAT and all other law enforcement exercises. Law enforcement training will no longer be allowed in that facility due to the damage being done to the buildings.”
We’re pretty sure that the State of Nevada has either allocated funds or received grants which would allow the building to be rebuilt. However, the garage was not the beneficiary of those funds and has sat untouched for the last two decades.
Perhaps, the 2023 Nevada Legislature could provide the funding to restore the garage. And the thing is, we have Native American stonemasons, trained at SIS, in this area who could do the masonry work, complete the repairs. Wouldn’t that complete the circle? Native American stonemasons repairing a structure built by Native American stonemasons?
The Stewart Barns – Horse Barn, rear and Dairy Barn, front
Here are the dairy and horse barns located on the grounds of the Stewart Indian School (SIS). The barns are at the southern edge of the campus. They are absolutely gorgeous and our favorite buildings. We think all of the buildings created by the Native American stonemasons are gorgeous, however, there is something about these two barns, sitting by themselves in a field that catches our heart.
Note the resemblance of the stones in this print to the stones used at the Stewart Indian School
As best we can determine, these barns were built in the mid 1920s by the masonry staff and students at the SIS. The horse barn has some sort of entry way, which we think was used to have the horses enter and leave the barn.
The south side of the entry way is comprised of carved granite blocks, plus, the first three feet of construction from the ground up is comprised of carved granite blocks.
We believe those blocks came from Benton Stables in Carson City. The stables were torn down after the death of the proprietor, James M. Benton in 1925. The use of stones from the stables in other buildings on the SIS campus has been documented.
Other than the granite blocks, the stones used in the barns are not dressed like the stones used in other buildings on the Stewart Campus. That is, they are not in block form, instead, the stones were used as they were found and almost resemble river rock in the construction technique. Also, note the tin shingle roofs on both barns. We think that the age and patina of the shingles perfectly complements the stones used in both barns.
Update: We found these pictures of the two stone barns plus a wood barn in the 1946 Stewart Indian School year book. What we thought was a entry way on the horse barn appears to be a connecting passage between the horse and dairy barns. The wood barn is no longer standing, however, portions of its foundation and floor remain.
The three barns
Diary and Horse barns, rear
It appears that that after the agricultural programs at Stewart were discontinued, the barns were used for storage by the General Services Administration (GSA) or the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) or some other alphabet agency. We base this on the faded signage affixed to the front of the building.
Buildings 112 and 114 are in the lower left-hand corner
In the building inventory of the National Register of Historic Places – Application , the barns are classified as significant. The National Register of Historic Places defines significant as “The property must embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, represent the work of a master, possess high artistic values, or represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction.”
We feel that the barns more than meet that definition. (https://publicworks.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/publicworksnvgov/content/Documents/03_Historic_Resources_Inventory_1982_Page_141.pdf)
These are not the only examples of barns built by the Native American stonemasons. We found a barn on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Owyhee, Nevada. This barn resembles the dairy farm found at SIS. We think that stonemasons who built the Owyhee barn were trained at Stewart, which accounts for the resemblance.
Photo – Society of Architectural Historians
According to the Society of Architectural Historians, “One of the tallest buildings in Owyhee, this large barn has stone walls rising one story to meet the flared edges of a steep, shingled gambrel roof. The faces of the gable ends are sheathed with short horizontal wood boards. Above the south door in the gable is a closed up opening for a hay door, flanked by two small square windows. Above the hay door, the gambrel roof projects to a point at which a pulley could be attached to hoist hay.” (see https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/NV-01-NO67)
Signage, Horse Barn
More signage, Horse Barn
Diary Barn, rear
Window keystones, Dairy Barn
Diary Barn, profile – note the resemblance to the Owyhee Barn
