Morgan Territory is an historic ranching area on the east side of

Mount Diablo Mount Diablo is a mountain of the Diablo Range, in Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. It is south of Clayton and northeast of Danville. It is an isolated upthrust peak of , visible from most ...

in San Francisco East Bay's Contra Costa County. It was named after Anglo-American pioneer Jeremiah Morgan, a migrant from Alabama and Iowa who acquired 2000 acres and developed a ranch here, starting in 1857. The earliest historic occupants had long been small, highly localized tribes of Native Americans, who spoke dialects of the

Bay Miwok language Bay Miwok (Saclan, Saklan) was one of the Miwok languages spoken in California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , ...

. During the Spanish and Mexican periods, the Native Americans were displaced and colonial governments made large grants of land to high-ranking officials. Americans began to buy such properties after moving into the area in the mid-19th century and later. Ranches for livestock and some farms were developed here. In the mid-20th century, the large ranch holdings were being sold for suburban residential development. Concerned about the loss of open space, in 1975 the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) acquired 930 acres of land to establish the Morgan Territory Regional Preserve, named for the historic area. During the following decades, it expanded this preserve to protect open space, habitat and watersheds for the public. The preserve now totals in area. In addition, the adjacent

Mount Diablo State Park Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

, established in the 1920s, has been part of a trail network connected to the Morgan Territory Regional Preserve . It acquired management and oversight of properties known as Morgan Ranch and Morgan Red Corral in the late 1980s. These lands are related to Morgan's historic ranch and were held by his descendants into the late 20th century.

History of territory

Expand - Native American and colonial eras, 19th and early 20th centuries

History of Preserve

Established in 1976 by the

East Bay Regional Park District The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is a special district operating in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area. It maintains and operates a system of regional parks which ...

(EBRPD) as Morgan Territory Regional Preserve, by 2015 this park had been expanded to a total of ."East Bay Regional Park District."
Retrieved July 10, 2013. The Preserve constitutes an important

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted ...

and recreational

corridor Corridor or The Corridor may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Corridor'' (1968 film), a 1968 Swedish drama film * ''The Corridor'' (1995 film), a 1995 Lithuanian drama film * ''The Corridor'' (2010 film), a 2010 Canadia ...

. Its area ranges east from Riggs Canyon and

to the Contra Costa Water District's Los Vaqueros watershed and EBRPD's Round Valley Regional Preserve. The original preserve was defined as fewer than 1000 acres and was located on Morgan Territory Ridge, east of Morgan Territory Road, and included the

headwaters The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

of Marsh Creek. In the late 1980s, it was expanded across the parallel Highland Ridge west of the road and into Riggs Canyon. Morgan Territory's

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

hills include the headwaters of Marsh and Tassajara creeks. According to the EBRPD, more than 90 species of wildflowers grow in Morgan Territory Regional Preserve. Particularly notable are the Diablo sunflower ''

Helianthella castanea ''Helianthella castanea'' is a rare plant endemic (ecology), endemic to California, and is found only in the San Francisco Bay Area, mostly in the hills east of the bay, including in Mount Diablo State Park, Wildcat Canyon Regional Park, Briones ...

'' and Diablo

manzanita Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus ''Arctostaphylos''. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from Southern British Columbia and Washington to Or ...

, which are native to the foothills of Mount Diablo. Fauna include deer, coyote, an occasional mountain lion, and

golden eagles The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds ...

."East Bay Regional Park District."
Retrieved December 11, 2017. The preserve has expansive views to Mt. Diablo and Mount St. Helena to the north, and the Sierra Nevada range to the east. Preserve trails are named for regional Native American peoples, such as the Volvon (one of five tribes in the Mt. Diablo area who spoke dialects of the

Bay Miwok The Bay Miwok are a cultural and linguistic group of Miwok, a Native American people in Northern California who live in Contra Costa County. They joined the Franciscan mission system during the early nineteenth century, suffered a devastating ...

language); animals such as

condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. They are: * The Andean condor (''Vu ...

(),

prairie falcon The prairie falcon (''Falco mexicanus'') is a medium-large sized falcon of western North America. It is about the size of a peregrine falcon or a crow, with an average length of 40 cm (16 in), wingspan of approximately 1 meter (40&n ...

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

and coyote; and for natural features related to the preserve's ranching history (Valley View, Blue Oak, and Highland Ridge). Popular activities in the park are camping, hiking, horseback riding, and picnicking. A reservation is required to use the backpacking campsite, which is not wheelchair accessible. Picnic sites cannot be reserved. Dogs are allowed and no fee is charged for their admittance."East Bay Regional Park District."
Retrieved July 10, 2013.

Additional features of the Preserve

The Morgan Backpack Camp was constructed in 2001 on the Highland Ridge Trail, a section of the Diablo Trail, at the former Cardoza homesite. Morgan Sulfur Spring is in lower Curry Canyon of this Regional Preserve. It is located in lower Sulfur Spring Canyon, and drains from Windy Point to Curry Creek. It may have been named by Mary Bowerman, who designated it as "Morgan Sulphur Spring".

Related protected areas

*Morgan Ranch - In 1989 Save Mount Diablo bought the 631-acre (2.6 km²) Morgan Ranch from Willard "Bill" Morgan and his wife Naomi; Bill is a great-grandson of settler Jeremiah Morgan. The non-profit transferred the ranch to Mt. Diablo State Park for management. This was the first and corner connection to Morgan Territory Regional Preserve. The Morgan Ranch extends from Marsh Creek over Highland Ridge, and descends west to Tassajara Creek in Riggs Canyon. *Morgan Red Corral - In 2004 Save Mount Diablo acquired the "Morgan Red Corral", another portion of the historic ranch, and transferred it to Mt. Diablo State Park. Located across Morgan Territory Road from the Morgan Ranch, it now serves as a staging area for this easternmost part of the State Park. In 2004 Save Mount Diablo honored Jeremiah Morgan by installing an historic monument about his role at the Morgan Red Corral property on Morgan Territory Road. *Joseph Galvin Ranch and 20-acr
Moss Rock
acquired by Save Mount Diablo, were transferred by the non-profit in January 2012 to East Bay Regional Park District for long-term management and public access.

References

{{Reflist *Adams, Seth

*''Diablo Watch'', (1989-2005), the newsletter of Save Mount Diablo. *East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD), www.ebparks.org *''History of the Sierra Club-Bay Chapter, Sierra Club-San Francisco Bay Chapter'', for the Bay Chapter 75th Anniversary, Sierra Club Bay Chapter website, 2001; Bay Chapter History Committee, Berkeley, CA. (research largely by Pam Challinor, and in 1983 by Esther Baginsky.) *Homan, Anne M., ''The Morning Side Of Mount Diablo'' (an illustrated account of the San Francisco Bay Area’s historic Morgan Territory Road), Walnut Creek, CA: Hardscratch Press, 2001 *Hulaniski, Frederick J., ed. ''The History of Contra Costa County, California''. Berkeley: The Elms Publishing Company, 1917 *Munro-Fraser, J.P., ''History of Contra Costa County California'', San Francisco, CA: Slocum, W.A. & Co., 1882/ republished Oakland, CA: Brooks-Sterling Company, 1974; (author variously reported as Slocum, Munro, or Munro-Fraser) *Purcell, Mae Fisher, ''History of Contra Costa County'', Gillick Press, Berkeley, California, 1940 *Stein, Mimi, ''A Vision Achieved: Fifty Years of East Bay Regional Park District, California'': East Bay Regional Park District, 1984

External links

EBRPD.org: Morgan Territory Regional Preserve websiteInfomotions.com: Morgan Territory Natural Preserve images
Mount Diablo Parks in Contra Costa County, California History of Contra Costa County, California Diablo Range East Bay Regional Park District Protected areas established in 1975 1975 establishments in California