Rancho Nipomo, almost 38,000 acres in size, was granted to Boston sea captain William Goodwin Dana in 1837. For many years it was the first stopping place on El Camino Real south of Mission San Luis Obispo. From 1839 until Dana's death in 1858, the rancho was known throughout the state as a hospitable stopping place for travelers, including Captain John C. Fremont, Edwin Bryant, and General Henry W. Halleck. In 1847 the Dana Ranch became one of four designated exchange points on California's first U.S. mail route.