Modjeska Canyon is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...
on the western slope of the
Santa Ana Mountains in eastern
Orange County,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. 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.
The canyon is also the location of the
Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary
Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary is a non-profit nature reserve on the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County, California, in the United States. It is located near the end of Modjeska Canyon, at the foot of Modjeska Peak, and adjacent to the Cleveland N ...
. Most of the canyon is bordered by the
Cleveland National Forest. 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 stage
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...
, mother of the famous bridge engineer Ralph Modjeski,
Helena Modjeska, who settled in the canyon in the late 19th century. Her home from 1888 to 1906,
"Arden," is a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
. 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, described a late 1800s community picnic in Modjeska in her memoirs, ''Pioneer Ranch Life in Orange''.
The Brotherhood of Eternal Love 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, 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 declaring the site an emergency.
During the
Bond Fire
The Bond Fire was a wildfire that burned in the Santiago Canyon area of Orange County, California in December 2020. The fire caused evacuations of 25,000 residents and injured 2 firefighters. The fire was very close to the burn scar of the Sil ...
, 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 an ...
, where the wildfire originated.
Gallery
Side Street.jpg, Side street
Modjeska Fire House.jpg, Modjeska Fire House
References
Further reading
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External links
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Landforms of Orange County, California
Unincorporated communities in Orange County, California
Santa Ana Mountains
Unincorporated communities in California