Modjeska, Pleasants and "Arden"

Helena Modjeska at Arden

We often hear about stage actress Madame Helena Modjeska’s home, “Arden” in what’s now called Modjeska Canyon. In fact, it's now a County historic park. But it wasn’t always called Arden, even by Modjeska herself.

Originally, Joseph Edward "Judge" Pleasants (1839-1934) and his first wife, Mary Refugio Carpenter Pleasants (1845-1888), lived at that idyllic spot in a little pioneer cabin which they cleverly named “Pleasant Refuge.” 

After Mary’s death, Judge Pleasants sold the land to family friend Helena Modjeska and her husband, Count Bozenta. The new owners hired architect Stanford White to design a new and larger home, built around the existing Pleasants homestead cabin. (This juxtaposition of rustic and fancy still makes for some of the most interesting features in the house.)

The Los Angeles Evening Express, July 19, 1888, described the house-warming party Modjeska's new canyon home saying, "The Madame has named her mountain home "El Refugio" -- a place of rest--after her dear departed friend, Mrs. Pleasants, and in the grandeur of its mountain seclusion it would seem to have reached the goal which she desired of it. The house is not quite completed, but it will be a marvel of beauty and convenience when finished."

Mary Refugio Carpenter Pleasants, 1868 (Courtesy UCI)

Apparently, she gave her home the name Arden only later, inspired by the Forest of Arden in Shakespeare's As You Like It. It retains that name today.

Modjeska would go on to be not just Orange County’s first celebrity resident, but also a beloved local figure for her kindness, hospitality, and community spirit.

The Judge (already a well-known figure in the region) went on to be the elder pioneer everyone turned to when they needed stories about Orange County’s Wild West years. He also became a founding member of the Orange County Historical Society. And in 1892, he married Mary Adelina "Addie" Brown (1859-1943) -- a local school teacher with her own keen interest in history. In 1931, Adelina would publish the three-volume set --History of Orange County, California -- which most local historians simply refer to as “Pleasants.”