A National Historic Landmark. Built in 1888 (Queen Anne style architecture in the United States). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. 14 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1901.
From the record
“Arden, also known as The Modjeska House, is a historic home designed by Stanford White in Modjeska Canyon, California. It is significant for being the only surviving home of Helena Modjeska, a Shakespearean actress and Polish patriot.”
Wikipedia article Modjeska House, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 136 National Register listings published here for Orange County · listed in 1972 · category: Building · built in 1888, Queen Anne style architecture in the United States, by Stanford White · a National Historic Landmark.
Architectural style. Queen Anne style architecture in the United States
Architect. Stanford White
National Register reference number.72000244- the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.
Then and now
1901 to 1997
The ground this property stands on, surveyed
96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are
United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
19011997
Fires near this property
92 since 1992
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The
federal wildfire occurrence database
lists 92 fires within 5 miles of Joseph Pleasants Stone Building
between 1992 and 2020, burning about 55,930 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 14 were recorded as arson.
Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted
here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
Reported cause
Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
30
Equipment and vehicle use
19
Arson/incendiarism
14
Recreation and ceremony
11
Misuse of fire by a minor
6
Power generation/transmission/distribution
4
Smoking
3
Debris and open burning
2
Natural
1
Fireworks
1
Other causes
1
The most recent of
them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service
that recorded it.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists
27 workings within 5 miles of Joseph Pleasants Stone Building: 12 past producers, 6 producers, 6 prospects, 2 occurrences.
6 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Lead, Gold. Distance is straight-line from the
map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring
settlement's page as well.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The National Weather Service names
Modjeska, the town this property stands in, in 5 storm reports between 2007 and 2008: 5 flash flood.
No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office
filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date
opens the federal record of that event.
Heavy rain from a thunderstorm over the Santiago Burn Area triggered damaging debris flows in Modjeska Canyon. The lowest floor of a 2-story house was completely inundated with approximately 1000 cubic meters of debris flow material. Damage to this home was extensive. The yard of a nearby home was inundated with approximately 2500 cubic meters of debris flow material.
Heavy rainfall from a thunderstorm over the Santiago Burn Area triggered flash flood and debris flows in Trabuco Canyon near O' Neill Regional Park. Live Oak Canyon Road was shut down after it was inundated with up to four feet of water. The mud and water rushed out of Trabuco Canyon and poured into Cook's Corner, a roadside biker bar at the intersection of Santiago Canyon and Live Oak Canyon roads. The bar was completely flooded and filled with mud.
Heavy rain showers over Modjeska Canyon caused a debris flow at the Lost Canyon Ranch. The debris flow originated on a hillside about 500 feet in elevation above the ranch and destroyed several fences and horse stalls as it raced toward Santiago Creek. The owner estimates property damage at his ranch to be near $40K.
Heavy rain in the Santiago Burn Area caused mud and debris flows in Modjeska Canyon. Many of the roads and yards that were buried in mud by this debris flow were impacted by similar debris flows last winter. The amount of mud and rock left in the wake of the debris flow was extensive but damage to roads and property was minor.
United States Geological Survey topographic
sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then
testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.
Other National Register properties close
enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both
positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties
to their map sheets.
Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.
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