Modjeska Canyon : County to Pay $1 Million for Late Actress’ Home

A century-old house designed by architect Stanford White for one of history’s premier Shakespearean actresses will be acquired by Orange County as the centerpiece of a regional park, the Board of Supervisors decided Wednesday.

County officials said they plan to pay $1 million for the home built for Helena Modjeska and her husband, which is $900,000 less than its appraised value. Plans also call for spending $500,000 over several years to improve and maintain the house and 16 acres of property.

A public hearing Wednesday revealed strong support for the purchase.

“A unique opportunity to acquire a national historic site has been presented to the County of Orange,” Supervisor Bruce Nestande said in urging the board to buy the house from the Walker family, which purchased it in 1923.

White, an internationally known architect who also helped plan restoration of the White House in 1900, designed the house in 1888 for Madame Modjeska. Born in Poland, the actress and her husband, Charles Bozenta Chlapowski, came to the county in the early 1870s and were instrumental in the development of what is now the City of Anaheim.

The actress used the house in Modjeska Canyon, below the 5,481-foot Modjeska Peak, from 1888 to 1906 to entertain leading actors such as Edwin Booth and Maurice Barrymore.

Madame Modjeska was famed as a Shakespearean actress in Europe and also toured North American stages. She called her county property “The Forest of Arden,” a title taken from Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” She died in 1909.