Open House today at the Wungnema House at Carson City's Mills Park
November is National Native American Heritage Month; observe the month by learning about some unique and enduring contributions a family of Native Americans made to our area. As the month winds down, and the good weather still holds, come out and visit the historic Wungnema House on the east side of Mills Park on Sunday, November 24th during the Foundation for Carson City Parks and Recreation’s monthly open house.
The open house is from 2 to 5 p.m. and there is no admission fee, and all ages are welcome.
The Wungnema House is the charming stone cottage located on the east side of Mills Park across from Carson High. It was built by a family of skilled Hopi stonemasons shortly after WWII and served as the family’s home until the early 1970s.
Learn about the remarkable family of skilled Hopi stonemasons, their work, and continuing legacy. Members of this remarkable family were responsible not only for building this charming house, but also many distinctive homes and structures, both large and small, in and around the Carson City area; their work beyond Carson City included ranch buildings in Washoe Valley, portions of Thunderbird Lodge and at least one church at Lake Tahoe. This family directly, and indirectly through the masons that learned their craft while students at the Stewart Indian School from the family patriarch, Ernest Wungnema, wove an enduring fabric which daily surrounds those of us who live and work here.
The family moved from the house in the early 1970s. In 1977, it was purchased by a developer, whose plans to turn the house into a restaurant fell through, after which the city acquired the house. The Wungnema House fell into disrepair and became subject to on-going vandalism until 1999, at which time, with a grant from the National Park Service and Quality of Life Initiative funds, Carson City was able to restore the house to serve as a museum and meeting place for small community groups and organizations.
For further information about the Foundation, visit their website at http://CarsonCityParks.org; their Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/CCParksFoundation, or write them at carsonparksfoundation@gmail.com, or at P.O. Box 3266, Carson City, NV 89702-3266.
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