This house and the pump house are on North Carson Street, approximately a block south of the Burger King.
Not much is known about the house. We couldn’t find any information about the building on the Carson City Assessor’s Web site. Supposedly, the house was built to repay a debt. We’ve been told that house was built in the 30s by one of the Native American stonemasons at the Stewart Indian School (SIS). According to local lore, the stonemason owed the property owner some money.
The property owner wanted a small house built on the property and made a deal with the stonemason – build a stone house for him, the property owner, and the debt would be forgiven. The property owner would provide the land (naturally) and building materials while the stonemason would provide the time, talent and tools.
House and pump house
And, so, a deal was struck – the house and pump house were built. For as long as anyone can remember, the house stood vacant, nobody lived in it. It just stood on the extreme northern edge of town until progress surrounded it. And while it was never vandalized, it recently (within the last five years) was fenced protect the buildings from vandalism, graffiti, teen-aged partygoers and the like.
Side view, North Carson Street House
The fencing makes it difficult to see the house and pump house; however, we feel better knowing that both buildings are now protected.
The weather’s been cold and nasty, so we’ve been staying in. Finally, cabin fever got the best of us and we wanted out. We decided to take a ride to Sparks. See, we had heard rumors of a large, pink stone house in Sparks. And then we found pictures of the house on a realty Web site, the site even had the address. So, we were off!
aerial view of the Wedekind Road parcel
The house is on Wedekind Road located between cookie-cutter apartments and, shall we say the “grittier” stretch of Wedekind.
We rounded a corner and there was the house – only, it wasn’t just one building, it was three. The lot size is enormous providing sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of city life.
The house and outlying buildings were constructed in 1939, the year the building program at the Stewart Indian School (SIS) began to take off. At this time, more and more people in Northern Nevada were using the students from masonry, electricial, carpentry, blacksmithing, and plumbing programs at Stewart.
Wedekind Road House
We believe that this compound was completed by the master and student stonemasons from the school. Until the school closed, the students in the building trades often built stone houses in Nevada and California.
Another indication that this was built by the stonemasons from Stewart is the fact that there is turquoise and onyx among the stones. The Wungnema Family (master stonemasons at the SIS) is known to have used those stones as their trademarks in their work.
There is a house, a garage (we think) and what is called a studio. Plus, a wishing well – this feature has been found in at least two other residences in Northern Nevada built by the stonemasons at the SIS: One being the Hershey house in Carson City and the other was located at a private residence in Carson City. We know the well at the private residence was built by Randall Wungnema.
Wedekind Road House outbuildings
Wedekind Road wishing well
This stone beauty is approximately 3,700 square feet and sits on 1.4 acres. The house sold in November of 2021 and from the real estate listing on the Internet at that time, we discovered that this single-family property could be either refreshed or the property could be demolished and up to nine individual, cookie-cutters type apartments constructed on the property.
To us, it is problematic when a real estate listing includes wording indicating that the property can be redeveloped for an increased revenue stream. The property is described as an “exciting investment opportunity,” To us, that is the kiss of death for these wonderful buildings.
This property is a piece of Nevada history and deserves to be respected for its role in providing shelter and helping to bolster the local economy in the post-depression years. Sure, the buildings could do with some touch up masonry work. Fortunately, there are some Stewart-trained Native American stonemasons in the area who could to that work!
Wedekind House sideview – note the wonderful veranda
Wedekind House
Perhaps, the new owner would be willing to work with local and state historical offices to have the property designated as a historical building. The property could be rehabbed and either used for a family – wouldn’t this be a great place to raise a family? Or it could be used as a community resource (an art gallery such as the Brewery Arts Center in Carson City comes to mind.)
See https://shpo.nv.gov/ for the Nevada State Preservation Office and https://www.historicreno.org/index.php for the Historic Reno Preservation Society. We think that there are financial benefits to having these structures designated as historic buildings. Financial benefits such as tax breaks and grants.
We hope that this house and the outbuildings are preserved for future generations.
(Originally published October 2019) We had a happy accident last week – we were Googling (this is a word – Google says it is!) this and that, when we stumbled across Moon Dune House at Lake Tahoe. Moon Dune is a stone house built in the 1930s. So naturally, we had to take a closer look.
The Web site for the house (moondune.com) was interesting and provided verification that the house was indeed built by Native American stonemasons as well as the family. Now, that has to be a first – a joint venture between a family and Native American stonemasons. All the more reason to go see this beauty in person!
Always up for a road trip, we set one fine Friday morning to go see this house ourselves. It was late fall and still warm enough that we did not need heavy sweaters or coats. Best of all, the summer tourist season was over, so the roads around the Lake were relatively free of traffic.
We knew we were there when we saw that glorious gate protecting the property as it has done for so many years. We looked at the chimney on the north side of the house – yep, sure looked like the work of Native American stonemasons.
Moon Dune Gates
We then walked down to the beach and were able to see the house up close and personal. It’s even more beautiful in person than in the photographs and the beach provides the perfect setting for this home!
The thing that sets this house apart from other homes built by the Native American stonemasons is the window treatment. All of the other stone buildings created by the Native American stonemasons have keystones for the windows and, sometimes, the door frames. Not this house. No, from what we could see, the windows and doors were framed in wood and the family inserted the stones they had collected on their travels around the wood frames.
We could clearly see the transition from those stones set by the stonemasons to those stones set by the family, which adds extra charm to the house. The pieces of Onyx and Turquoise interspersed among the other stones are especially striking!
Moon Dune House – note the window framing
Stepping back for a better look, we noticed a small stone chimney jutting out to the side of the house. Oh, what was this? We walked back up the beach to the front of the house. Next to Moon Dunes was a fenced property – the fence being too tall for those of us who are vertically challenged! Fortunately, not all of our party was vertically challenged, so we were able to get a picture of small stone structure inside the fence.
Moon Dune Bonus House
We decided to call this building the bonus house! It was either a small house or cabin, a perfectly sized building. From the construction, it appears that it was built at the same time as Moon Dune. Why, though, was it off to one side and separated by fencing? Good question and while we don’t know the answer to that question, we do have our own theory. We think that, perhaps, this small building was an outbuilding for Moon Dune and over the years, the lot was divided into two parcels. One parcel has Moon Dune on it while the other parcel has this small stone building on it. That’s our thinking. If anybody knows the real story, please share – we’d love to hear it!
We thought that, having spent so much time at Lake Tahoe searching for the homes and churches built by the Native American stonemasons, we had found them all. And we were wrong.
Finding Moon Dunes showed us that the Lake is big enough and wooded enough that there may well be more stone buildings around Lake Tahoe that we’ve yet to discover. We’ve heard rumors that Native American stonemasons from Carson City built two, large stone houses in Tahoe City and Rubicon Bay. Apparently, the house in Rubicon Bay is on the beach and can be seen from the lakeside.
Winter’s coming and we probably won’t do much exploring until April or so of next year. In the meantime, we’ll use what technological resources are available to us to determine if we can find more of these stone beauties at Lake Tahoe. Of course, if anybody happens to know where to find a stone house or two of Native American construction and wants to share that information with us, we wouldn’t say no!
Moon Dune living room fireplace (photo courtesy moondune.com). Note the beautiful stone fireplace.
Moon Dune House chimney
Moon Dune House – side view. Note the difference in the stones used in the wall and the chimney as well as the difference in the masonry styles.
During a trip through Arizona in 1914, Fredrick Snyder, superintendent of the Stewart Indian School (SIS), had seen examples of Native American stone masonry and was impressed with the workmanship. When he became superintendent of the Stewart Indian School in 1919, he imported both the masonry style (which morphed into the Stewart Vernacular style) and Native American stonemasons to work at the school.
His importance to both the SIS and Carson City was such that the road leading to the school was renamed Snyder Avenue. It was originally Stewart Avenue. However, the street name was changed in the late 1950s – early 1960s.
Stewart Barn
While at Stewart, the Native American stonemasons learned the locally-unique Stewart Vernacular style of masonry using the protocol established at the school.
According to the Wikepedia Web site, Vernacular architecture is slightly different than other architectural styles. It is the native method of construction used by local people, usually using labor-intensive methods and local materials, and usually for small structures such as rural cottages. It varies from region to region even within a country, and does not rely on national styles or technology. As western society has developed, vernacular styles have mostly become outmoded due to new technology and to national building standards.
Corpus Christi Catholic Church
Many of the buildings at the Stewart Indian School were built using either Rhyolite or multi-colored Nevada native stones. Some of the Native American stonemasons, especially the Wungnemas, set the stones with mortar that either had brick or coal dust mixed into it. This gave the mortar a pink or a black tinge. The style was locally influential in Northern Nevada.
Mr. Snyder was somewhat of a rock hound in that he, his friends, the students and the local businesses making deliveries to the school, would go out in the desert around Carson City to collect the rocks used in the buildings at the school and around town.
Mr. Snyder also implemented a Residential Construction Program*, where the staff and students would be contracted to build local residences, walls and landscape features. This program generated income for both the school and the students while providing the student apprentices with on-the-job training. We know that the master stonemasons and the student stonemasons from the school participated in this OJT program. We think that it’s possible that the master carpenters, plumbers and electricians and their students also participated in this program.
These Native American stonemasons built many – if not all of – the buildings at the Stewart Indian School, all of which are still standing today. The Stewart Indian School is on the National Registrar of Historic Places, thus ensuring that the work of the Native America stonemasons will be preserved for future generations to admire and study.
While vernacular architecture may have become outmoded in most of the country, the Stewart Vernacular style of masonry is still highly prized in Northern Nevada and California. People who own a Stewart Vernacular house, wall, planter, fireplace, chimney or landscape feature, consider themselves lucky – lucky that they own a piece of history and lucky that there are still Native American stonemasons actively working in Nevada and who can repair these pink stone creations.
Stewart Dorms
The Second World War saw the decline of the building program at the Stewart Indian School – the shortage of building materials, the gas rationing and the drafting of the young men made it impossible to maintain Fredrick Snyder’s grand plans for the school. After the War, the program was not able to recover its pre-war momentum and many of the stonemasons sought work elsewhere. The instructors and students became self-employed stonemasons seeking work locally or returning to their home states to work as stonemasons. Their stone, brick or cinderblock creations are their legacies and their gifts to us.
A side note: There are no known photographs of Frederick Snyder. If you have a photograph of him, we’d love it if you would share it with the Stewart Indian Museum or us.
*Our name for the program. Research has yet to reveal the program’s working name.
This is the Hersey House. Isn’t it just gorgeous? It was built for the Reverend Milton J. Hersey and his family. According to the Carson City Assessor’s Office, the house was built 1930 – 1934.
Hershey House – Mountain Street side
At one time, it was thought that the house was built by the Wungnema Family. However, the Wungnema Family did not move to Nevada until after construction was completed.
While the Wungnemas did not build the Hersey House, they are thought to have built the landscape design elements in the garden (the fence, the fence posts and the wishing well), approximately 7 – 10 years after the house was completed. We know of at least two other wishing wells completed by the Native American stonemasons. One is in Sparks, while the other has been demolished.
Rather, the trade students at the Stewart Indian School (SIS) build the house. The SIS is located south of Carson City. The trades included electrical, plumbing, carpentry, blacksmithing and masonry. These students built a number of homes in the area.
The Reverend Milton J. Hersey (internet photograph)
The reverend was one of the chaplains at SIS where he struck up a friendship with Fredrick Snyder, the superintendent at SIS. The two men were known to walk the high desert outside of Carson City looking for stones. These found stones and quarried stones were used at Stewart and in the Hershey House.
When built, the house was on the western edge of Carson City. Today, it sits in the middle of Carson City’s historical district. The house is also within walking distance of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church where Reverend Hersey served as rector from May 1925 through August 1934. For additional information on the reverend’s time at SIS and his missionary work, see: http://usgenwebsites.org/UTGenWeb/Uintah/biosgl.html and http://usgenwebsites.org/UTGenWeb/Uintah/native.html,
The house is almost a century old and is in remarkable condition. If you have a chance, drive or walk by this piece of Nevada history.
Hersey House front – Musser Street Side
Hersey House chimney
Hersey House Garage
Hersey House from Musser Street
Hersey House gates
Hersey House wishing well (attributed to Randall Wungnema)
