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C−History
History · Dana Point

Dana Point’s post office opened in 1929, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #452 of 847 in California. What drives it

Most of Dana Point was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Its Register listing is the VIRGINIA (sloop). Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1960.

1929first post office
1on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Don Ramey Logan · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Dana Point began

When was Dana Point founded?

1929

The Dana Point post office opened in 1929, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1989. Three smaller post offices, Capistrano (1867), Capistrano Beach (1925) and Doheny Park (1926), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,186 in 19602020 census: 33,10797 years

How historic is Dana Point?

C−

More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Dana Point post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1989.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Dana Point’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Dana Point is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #452 of 847 in California. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Dana Point’s overall grade.
Founding era1929, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19402.6% of homes (±1.2) · typical CA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register1 listing, 0.3 per 10,000 residents · typical CA town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 21%
NewerOlder
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 47%

Few California towns list much on the Register (a typical California town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Dana Point’s 0.3 sits above most of its state (67% of California towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.2 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1989.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Dana Point’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Dana Point are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Dana Point, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersMelinda Clarke, Steve Hegg and 6 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Dana Point’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Dana Point’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Dana Point’s post office has been open since 1929. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Capistrano
1867–1905
Capistrano Beach
1925–1968
Doheny Park
1926–1947
Dana Point
1929–today
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Beachwood Trailer ParkCapistrano BeachDana Point Marina Mobile Home EstatesThree Arch Bay

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Dana Point

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Melinda ClarkeAmerican actress · b. 1969
S
Steve HeggAmerican cyclist · b. 1963
Katie McLaughlinAmerican swimmer · b. 1997
Joyce HoffmanAmerican surfer · b. 1947
Brenden SchoolerAmerican football player · b. 1997
D
Dana BrownAmerican surfer and filmmaker · b. 1959
The story

How Dana Point came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Dana Point.

Read it all →

The Acjachemen village site of Toovannga was located near the present-day site of Dana Point Harbor. The village was located near the mouth of the San Juan Creek. The people lived in villages of around 250 people and stewarded the land into a thriving ecosystem. Each village was politically independent and established ties with other villages through marriage. The area of Dana Point is located downstream from the mother village of Putuidem.

ChaptersIndigenousMexican eraAmerican eraDana Point HarborStrandCapistrano BeachSurfing

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Dana Point, 1867 to 1997

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867Post officeThe Capistrano post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Post officeThe Capistrano post office closes
  5. 1925Post officeThe Capistrano Beach post office opens
  6. 1926Post officeThe Doheny Park post office opens
  7. 1947Born hereJoyce Hoffman is born here
  8. 1947Post officeThe Doheny Park post office closes
  9. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1963Born hereSteve Hegg is born here
  11. 1968Post officeThe Capistrano Beach post office closes
  12. 1969Born hereMelinda Clarke is born here
  13. 1997Born hereKatie McLaughlin is born here
By decade

Dana Point, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Aerial view of California Coast, looking SSE around South Laguna and2026Aerial view of California Coast, looking SSE around S…Aerial view of California Coast, looking NNE around2026Aerial view of California Coast, looking NNE aroundAerial view of California Coast, looking NNE around Dana Point and San Clemente2026Aerial view of California Coast, looking NNE around D…Aerial view of California Coast, looking ENE around South Laguna and2026Aerial view of California Coast, looking ENE around S…
On the map

Dana Point on the map, 1948 to 1974

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Dana Point. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Dana Point on the 1948 USGS mapDana Point on the 1968 USGS mapDana Point on the 1974 USGS map1948Dana Point sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Dana Point.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Dana Point

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
VIRGINIA (sloop)
VIRGINIA (sloop)
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Racing Sloop1
All 1 listings
VIRGINIA (sloop)Structure · listed 1991

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Dana Point, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,0001960198020002020Peak: 35,110

Between 1,186 and 35,110 people in every census since 1960.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Dana Point’s Wikipedia page.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Laguna NiguelIts storyD−San Clemente6 historic placesC−San Juan Capistrano13 historic placesB−Laguna Beach4 historic placesB+

Questions about Dana Point’s history

What year was Dana Point founded?

The Dana Point post office opened in 1929, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1989.

How does Dana Point rank for history?

Dana Point is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #452 of 847 in California. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Dana Point?

One place: the VIRGINIA (sloop) (listed 1991).

How old are the homes in Dana Point?

3% of Dana Point’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a California town; the median home was built in 1979.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.