Carson City Parks Foundation to host Sunday open house at Wungnema House in Mills Park
CARSON CITY — Looking for something different to do after all the Nevada Day celebrating? Want something a little more laidback for your Sunday afternoon? Drop by that small stone house on east side of Mills Park, opposite Carson High; it’s the Wungnema House.
Despite the picture, it’s neither haunted nor spooky, although members of the Parks Foundation will have some Halloween candy on hand. The house is open from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. There is no admission charge, although donations are always welcome.
Just after World War II, the Wungnemas, skilled Hopi stonemasons, built the house and made it their their home. Visit on Sunday and learn something about these Hopi stonemasons, their heritage, their work, and their continuing legacy. The family was responsible not only for this house, but also for many other distinctive homes and structures in and around the Carson City area, including a ranch in Washoe Valley and at least one church at Lake Tahoe.
After the family moved from the house in the early 1970s, it fell into disrepair and was subject to on-going vandalism until it was rescued by Carson City in the late 1990s and, with a grant from the National Park Service, restored to serve as a meeting place for small community groups and organizations.
The Wungnema House is managed by the Foundation for Carson City Parks and Recreation under a lease from Carson City. The Foundation is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, which provides an umbrella under which various organizations and citizens can come together to explore innovative ways to promote, facilitate, and fund their activities. It assists these organizations and individuals with similar goals to promote and meet Foundation objectives by acting in a fiduciary capacity to help manage and protect monies raised for their projects.
Projects, past and present, facilitated by the Foundation include the Carson City Tennis Club’s Centennial Park repairs, the Eagle Valley Disc Golf Course (scheduled to open early in 2019), the Lone Mountain Cemetery Headstone Project, improvements at the Carson City Gun Range, and improvements to the dog parks at Fuji and Sonoma Parks that were completed in June. Our latest partner project is the Carson Railroad Association, operators of the Carson and Mills Park Railroad, the narrow-gauge railroad in Mills Park.
The Foundation welcomes new members as well as donations from individuals and businesses in support of the Foundation’s projects.
For further information, visit the Foundation’s website at CarsonCityParks.org, check out their Facebook page, www.facebook.com/CCParksFoundation, or email the Foundation at carsonparksfoundation@gmail.com.
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