Look at this beauty! It’s the Wungnema House located in Carson City, Nevada. The original builders/owners of the Wungnema House, were Burton and Pearl Wungnema. Their name, Wungnema, is Hopi for “grow”, as in growing corn. Both of them were originally from Arizona and met, as teens, in Carson City at the Stewart Indian School, and married in 1947. They were both Hopi Indians. Pearl was from the Sun clan while Burton was from the Water clan. Burton died at 29 years old on May 30, 1956, and Pearl died at 75 years old, October 4, 2001. The extended family consists of the Talas and McQueen families, most of whom are master stonemasons in their own right.
This 1,000 square-foot house was built just on the outskirts of Carson City and was completed in 1948. At that time, the house was located on the extreme eastern edge of the city. The couple could see the V&T Roundhouse from their yard. Now, due to Carson City’s growth, the house is a part of Mills Park.
The Wungnema House is outlined in red on the right-hand side of the photograph
Burton Wungnema, with the help of his father, Earnest Wungnema, and his then-pregnant wife Pearl Talas Wungnema, built the house for his family, using the stone from his father’s quarries in Brunswick Canyon.
After becoming a widow, Pearl raised their children in the home. The children slept, dormitory-style, upstairs. Her nieces and nephews have fond memories of the house, they especially remember playing in the creek that runs along side the house.
Little unknown facts about the house are 1) that the house was a wedding present to Pearl from Burton and that, per Hopi tradition, the construction of the house was a team effort with the entire Wungnema Family, including the Talas and McQueen branches of the family, assisting in its construction and 2) Pearl’s father, Homer S. Talas, was a master carpenter by trade and it is believed that his contribution to the construction of the house was the carpentry work in the home.
There are some members of the community who believe that the stones used in the house are merely a façade placed on a wooden base in order to simulate a stone house. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The family used complete and whole stones in the construction of this wedding present.
As the house was built post-WWII, only half the upstairs was built due to the shortage of building materials used for the war effort. The country was still recovering from the rationing of many essential items, including building materials. The original windows, now removed, were from the Catholic churches in Brockway, Lake Tahoe, and Truckee, California. Earnest and Burton, while building those churches, purchased the windows because the windows were not made with frosted glass and the churches were going to return the windows to the manufacturers.
Downstairs, the fireplace was constructed using stone from Arizona. The face is cut stone of clouds and lightning and is the emblem of the Water clan of the Hopi Nation. The hearth is Wonder Stone and was probably quarried in Fallon, Nevada.
This home, in all its beauty, is representative of the wonderful masonry work done in the churches and homes built by Burton, his father, Ernest and other members of the Wungnema Family in Northern Nevada from 1925 to 1955.
After Burton’s death, Pearl and their children lived in the house until the early 1970s. After the family moved out, the house sat vacant and fell victim to vandalism (Though, it was hosted some mighty fine haunted houses during that time!).
Fortunately, in the late 1990s, the City of Carson acquired the house and restored it to its original glory. The Wungnema House was officially opened to the public in December 2000. The ceiling boards replaced during the restoration project were milled using the same dies used to mill the lumber for the original ceiling.
The property is now owned by the City of Carson. Some members of the community feel that this marvelous building should be on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). We don’t feel that is necessary. Having a building on the NRHP offers the owners of historic buildings many advantages and resources necessary for the upkeep of those buildings, including grants and tax breaks. However, The City owns the Wungnema House and is committed to its continuing care, repair and maintenance. Plus, the City not only insures the house, it does not pay taxes on the property it owns. This means that there is no need for placing it on the NRHP.
The Foundation for Carson City’s Parks and Recreation (Foundation) manages the house on behalf of the City. The Wungnema House is now home to a number of self-help groups and is available as a venue for wedding receptions, parties, celebrations and family reunions. The Foundation hosts annual open houses of the building. Be sure to attend one of these open houses so that you can see this magnificent house in all its glory!