Editing Morgan Hill, California (section)

==History==
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| footer      = City founders Hiram Morgan Hill and Diana Murphy
| image1      = Hiram Morgan Hill (c. 1880's).png
| alt1        = Hiram Morgan Hill (c. 1880's)
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| image2      = Diana Helen Murphy (c. 1880's).png
| alt2        = Diana Helen Murphy (c. 1880's)
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Prior to the arrival of [[Spaniards#Colonialism and emigration|Spanish colonists]], [[Santa Clara Valley]] had been inhabited by the [[Tamien people|Tamien nation]] of [[Ohlone|Ohlone people]] for more than 6,000 years. In that area, the Matalan tribe lived in a [[hunter-gatherer]] society.<ref name=Circa>{{cite web|url=http://www.morgan-hill.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2607 |author= Circa: Historic Property Development |title= Historic Context Statement for the City of Morgan Hill |date=October 2006 |access-date=August 2, 2014 }}</ref>

Before the area was colonized as part of the [[Alta California]] province of the [[New Spain|Viceroyalty of New Spain]], the 1772 Spanish expedition led by [[Pedro Fages]] and Father [[Juan Crespí]], the two explorers camped in the area around Morgan Hill alongside [[Llagas Creek]]. The location of their camp subsequently became a campsite for Spanish soldiers on their way from New Spain to Alta California. With the founding of [[Mission Santa Clara de Asís]] in 1777, the lands of present-day Morgan Hill were granted to the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]].<ref name=Circa/>

Following Mexico's independence from Spain, land was redistributed to Mexican citizens across California and the land encompassing modern-day Morgan Hill was granted to Juan María Hernández, in 1835.<ref name=Circa/> In 1845, Martin Murphy Sr., an Irish-born Mexican citizen, acquired the area and named it ''[[Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.morgan-hill.ca.gov/index.aspx?nid=315|title=History - City of Morgan Hill, CA - Official Website|website=morgan-hill.ca.gov}}</ref><ref>[http://digicoll.lib.berkeley.edu/record/264230 United States. District Court (California : Northern District) Land Case 379 ND]</ref><ref>[http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/hb109nb422/ Finding Aid to the Documents Pertaining to the Adjudication of Private Land Claims in California, circa 1852-1892]</ref> 
[[File:Historic Malaguerra Winery in Madrone, Morgan Hill, California 2762 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Santa Clara County, California|Malaguerra Winery]] in the [[Madrone, Morgan Hill, California|Madrone neighborhood]], built in 1869 by [[Californios|Californio]] rancher José María Malaguerra, is on the [[National Register of Historic Places|National Historic Register]].]]
In 1850, Martin Murphy Sr.'s youngest son, Daniel Murphy, married Maria Fisher, heiress of the neighboring {{Convert|19000|acre|ha|adj=on}} ''Rancho Laguna Seca'', thus combining the two estates. In 1853, Martin Murphy Sr.'s father, Bernard Murphy, died leaving the majority of the estate to Martin Murphy Sr., but a substantial portion to a Martin Murphy Sr.'s mother, Catherine, who then married James Dunne. By 1870, the Murphy family had acquired around {{Convert|70000|acre|ha}} of the Morgan Hill area.<ref name=Circa/> In the history of Morgan Hill, the Murphy, Dunne, and Hill families are some of the most prominent.

By the late 1850s, [[Californios|Californio]] ranchero José María Malaguerra began cultivating [[vineyard]]s in [[Madrone, Morgan Hill, California|Madrone]], then an independent township just north of Morgan Hill.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ca0937/
|title=Malaguerra Winery, Burnett Road, Morgan Hill, Santa Clara County, CA|first=Historic American Buildings|last=Survey|website=loc.gov|access-date=February 22, 2023}}</ref> In 1869, he founded the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Santa Clara County, California|Malaguerra Winery]], the oldest extant winery in Santa Clara Valley, which is listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref>[https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/80000858 National Park Service - Malaguerra Winery]</ref> In 1875, [[Tiburcio Vásquez]], famed Californio [[outlaw|bandido]], robbed [[21-Mile House]]; the Vásquez Oak that stands there today is named in his memory.

In 1882, Daniel and Maria Murphy's daughter, Diana Murphy, fell in love with [[Missouri]] businessman Hiram Morgan Hill.  They married in secret, on account of his being a [[Quakers|Quaker]] and her being from a prominent Roman Catholic family. When Daniel Murphy died, Diana and Hiram Morgan Hill inherited the {{Convert|4500|acre|ha}} surrounding the original Murphy estate, near Murphy's Peak (now known as El Toro). In 1884, the Hills built their weekend estate, as the family primarily lived in [[San Francisco]], dubbed [[Villa Mira Monte]] (Spanish for Mountain-View Estate).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.morganhillhistoricalsociety.org/morgan-hill-house.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014172939/http://www.morganhillhistoricalsociety.org/morgan-hill-house.html|url-status=dead|title=Morgan Hill Historical Society - Villa Mira Monte|archive-date=October 14, 2013|access-date=February 22, 2023}}</ref>
[[File:Votaw Building (2) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Downtown's historic Votaw Building was built in 1905.]]
By 1886, the family chose to live primarily at the [[Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche|Ojo del Agua]] [[Ranchos of California|rancho]], as they jointly inherited {{Convert|22000|acre|ha}} around the estate. However, the move was temporary, as scandal caused by the marital complications of Hiram Morgan Hill's prominent socialite sister, [[Sarah Althea Hill]], and her husband, Senator [[William Sharon]], made the Hills a source of social ridicule, thus causing them to start spending the majority of their time between San Francisco and Washington, D.C., thus leaving their rancho untouched for long periods of time.<ref name=Circa />

In 1892, Hiram Morgan Hill contracted land developer [[Rancho Santa Ysabel (Arce)#Chauncey Hatch Phillips|C.&nbsp;H. Phillips]] to divide and liquidate the [[Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche]], only retaining the [[Villa Mira Monte]] estate and the surrounding {{Convert|200|acre|ha}}, which the Hill family would hold until 1916. By 1898, a significant community had built around what was then known as ''Morgan Hill's Ranch'', and a [[Southern Pacific Transportation Company|Southern Pacific Railroad]] station was built in the Huntington area. Rather than ask to stop at Huntington station, passengers would ask to stop at "Morgan Hill's Ranch", which eventually shortened to "Morgan Hill".<ref name=Circa/>

On November 10, 1906, the planned community, a result of the divisions of C.&nbsp;H. Phillips, was [[municipal corporation|incorporated]] as the Town of Morgan Hill. Hiram Morgan and Diana Hill's only child, Diana Murphy Hill, married the French nobleman, Baron Hadouin de Reinach-Werth, and thus Baron Hadouin started to help manage Hiram Morgan Hill's properties between California and Nevada. However, the baron was called back to France to serve in the military and never returned. In 1913, Hiram Morgan Hill died at his [[Elko, Nevada|Elko estate in Nevada]], thus leaving his properties to his daughter. Diana Murphy Hill later remarried, in 1916, to Sir George Rhodes, thus causing the Murphy heiress of the Morgan Hill estate to relocate to the United Kingdom, taking her and Hiram Morgan Hill's daughter, Diana Murphy Hill, thus finally selling off the [[Villa Mira Monte]] and ending the Hill family presence in the community named after them.<ref name=Circa/>

In 1959, Morgan Hill annexed [[Madrone, Morgan Hill, California|Madrone]], turning the former [[township]] into a Morgan Hill's northernmost district, bordering [[San Jose, California|San Jose]] and [[Coyote, California|Coyote Valley]].