Modjeska Canyon is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) on the western slope of the

Santa Ana Mountains The Santa Ana Mountains are a short peninsular mountain range along the coast of Southern California in the United States. They extend for approximately southeast of the Los Angeles Basin largely along the border between Orange and Riversid ...

in eastern

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

. It is a suburban community of several hundred residents, with a small park and a volunteer fire station. The ZIP Code is 92676, and the community is inside

area code 714 Area codes 714 and 657 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the southern part of the U.S. state of California. The numbering plan area comprises northern Orange County, a portion of Los Angeles County, and the ...

. The canyon is also the location of the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary. Most of the canyon is bordered by the

Cleveland National Forest Cleveland National Forest is a National forest (United States), U.S. national forest in Southern California that encompasses 460,000 acres/ of inland Montane ecosystems, montane regions. It is approximately 60 miles from the Pacific Ocean, withi ...

. The community of Modjeska is very tight knit, hosting several in-canyon events, such as pot lucks, dance lessons, movie nights at the park, Fourth of July parades, as well as Christmas and Halloween parties. The parties are usually held in the Modjeska Community Center and the Fire Station. They also hold events for non-residents to come and enjoy, such as an arts and crafts fair held in early spring at the Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary.

History

Modjeska is named after the 19th-century

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

stage

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

, mother of the famous bridge engineer

Ralph Modjeski Ralph Modjeski (born Rudolf Modrzejewski; ; January 27, 1861 – June 26, 1940) was a Polish-American civil engineer who achieved prominence as "America's greatest bridge builder." He furthered the use of suspension bridges and oversaw the desig ...

Helena Modjeska Helena Modrzejewska (; born Jadwiga Helena Mizel; October 12, 1840 – April 8, 1909), known professionally in the United States as Helena Modjeska, was a Polish-American actress who specialized in Shakespearean and tragic roles. She was success ...

, who settled in the canyon in the late 19th century. Her home from 1888 to 1906, "

Arden Arden may refer to: Places Australia * Arden Street, North Melbourne, Victoria * Arden railway station, Melbourne Canada * Arden, Ontario Denmark * Arden, Denmark, a town ** Arden Municipality, a former municipality, including the town of Arden ...

", is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. The house and gardens are private; therefore, reservations are required for a tour of the property. The house is typically open only once or twice a month. Mary Teegarden Clark, an early resident of nearby

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

, described a late 1800s community picnic in Modjeska in her memoirs, ''Pioneer Ranch Life in Orange''.

Demographics

For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau first listed Modjeska as a

(CDP) in the 2020 census.

2020 census

The Brotherhood of Eternal Love The Brotherhood of Eternal Love was an organization of drug users and distributors that operated from the mid-1960s through the late 1970s in Orange County, California. They were dubbed the Hippie Mafia by the police. They produced and distribut ...

was incorporated as a non-profit organization in Modjeska on Oct 26, 1966 — a few months before John Griggs and other founding members relocated to the Woodland Drive neighborhood of

Laguna Beach Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Located in Southern California along the Pacific Ocean, this seaside resort city has a mild year-round climate, scenic coves, and environ ...

, CA (later known as 'Dodge City').

Wildfires

The canyon was affected by the Santiago Fire. About 14 homes in Modjeska were destroyed by the fire and another 8 homes were damaged (out of a total of roughly 220 homes in the canyon). Mandatory evacuations were issued prior to President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

declaring the site an emergency. During the Bond Fire, Modjeska Canyon was one of the first communities to be evacuated due to their proximity to

Silverado Canyon Silverado Canyon is a roughly 2,500-foot-deep (760 m) gorge in the Santa Ana Mountains, in the U.S. state of California. The small stream it is associated with, Silverado Creek, rises on the north slope of Modjeska Peak at the elevation of and ...

, where the wildfire originated.

Gallery

Side Street.jpg, Side street Modjeska Fire House.jpg, Modjeska Fire House

References

External links

* * * {{authority control Landforms of Orange County, California Unincorporated communities in Orange County, California Santa Ana Mountains Unincorporated communities in California Census-designated places in Orange County, California