Ferdinand Backs House
The Ferdinand Backs House is an historic 3,713-square-foot, five-bedroom Colonial Revival-style home in Anaheim’s Colony District. Ferdinand Backs, a skilled cabinetmaker, arrived in Anaheim in 1867 to open the city’s first undertaking parlour and furniture store. He married Louise Werder, whose family was among the original colonists who founded Anaheim, in 1875. Ferdinand had become a successful businessman who, along with his wife, was active in social and civic circles when the house was built in 1901 by Edward Neihaus of Berkeley (who just happened to be Louise’s brother-in-law). People from the worlds of theater, industry and American politics visited the Backs home including Polish actress Madame Modjeska, steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie, Gov. Hiram Johnson and President Warren G. Harding. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Anaheim, Orange County
Photographers: Mary Madden, Andrew Schmidt
SoCal Landmarks teamed up with members of the Photographic Society of Orange County (PSOC) to document this landmark.