Five miles west on the old Post Road, the southernmost postal route in America, stood the home and botanical garden of Louis LeConte, a naturalist, mathematician, and scholar for whom the LeConte Pear was named. A native of New Jersey, LeConte married Ann Quarterman, a member of Midway Church, in 1812 and established his famed botanical gardens on his extensive plantation. In his attic he fitted a chemical laboratory and cultivated rare plants from all parts of the world. Though modest and not given to exploiting his achievements, he regularly drew visitors from foreign lands to see his gardens. At the family plantation were born his internationally known sons, Dr. John LeConte in 1818 and Dr. Joseph LeConte in 1823, two of the most distinguished scientific scholars of the nineteenth century, who made the University of California famous.