Arley Leck House

Arley Leck, a Tustin bean and grain farmer, bought 290 acres on the east side of San Juan Capistrano across Ortega Highway from the Forster property. He planted some citrus and avocado trees, but the land consisted of mostly hills that were ideal for cattle grazing, which was Leck’s latest endeavor. Leck met and married Frank Forster’s eldest daughter, Alicia, better known to family and friends as Alice, in 1917. As a wedding gift, her parents gave the newlyweds additional acreage for the Lecks’ California bungalow-style home. After Alicia died in 1975, the property was sold to the Honneymans and later to the William Lyon Home Company for their development. They generously donated the Leck house to the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society. In 2005 they moved the house to the Los Rios Historical Center and completely restored it.

San Juan Capistrano, Orange County
Photographer: Andrew Schmidt