Murray Township was a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

located in what is now the

Livermore Valley The Livermore Valley, historically known as the Valle de San José (Valley of San José), is a valley in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region. The city of Livermore is located in the valley. Geography The valley is bound ...

portion of

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Al ...

, including the present day cities of Livermore,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, and

Pleasanton Pleasanton may refer to: Places * Pleasanton, California * Pleasanton, Iowa * Pleasanton, Kansas * Pleasanton, Nebraska * Pleasanton, New Mexico * Pleasanton, Ohio * Pleasanton, Texas * Pleasanton Township, Michigan Other * Pleasanton High School ...

, and the census-designated place of Sunol. It was named after Michael Murray and created in June 1853, a few months after Alameda County itself was created, encompassing the eastern portion of the county. It was at the time the largest of the six townships in the county.

History

The California gold rush beginning in 1848 drew prospectors from around the world. Many travelled by sea to Alameda County and took the road through Sunol and Livermore valleys towards the mountains. In 1853, Murray Township was established as one of 6 Alameda County townships and given a seat on the board of supervisors. In 1902, Pleasanton Township was created from part of Murray township. By 1910, Pleasanton, with a population of 2883, followed by Murray, with a population of 4137, were the least populous of the seven townships. In its early settlement, the area was mostly used for cattle ranching. The climate proved ideal for wine cultivation, so many land owners planted vineyards from the 1880s onwards. All the towns in Murray Township remained small and dominated by agriculture until the 1950s, when the population boomed and land was subdivided for developments.

Notable locations

The geographical landforms of the area include

Amador Valley Amador Valley is a valley in eastern Alameda County, California and is the location of the cities of Dublin and Pleasanton. Part of Tri-Valley, the valley is bounded by the foothills of the Diablo Range on the north and south, Pleasanton Ridge to ...

(named after José Maria Amador), Livermore Valley (named after Robert Livermore),

Sunol Valley Sunol Valley ( es, Valle de Suñol) is located in Alameda County, California, United States. The small town of Sunol lies in the valley. It is largely rural, but is in proximity to the highly populated Bay Area suburbs of Fremont, Pleasanton, a ...

(named after Don

Antonio Suñol Don Antonio María Suñol was a Spanish-born Californio businessman, ranchero, and politician. Suñol served two terms as Alcalde of San José (mayor) and was one of the largest landowners in the Bay Area. He is the namesake of the town of Suno ...

), Alamo Valley, and Tassajara Valley.

Arroyo de la Laguna Arroyo de la Laguna is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 southward-flowing stream in Alameda County, California, United States which originates at the con ...

is the major waterway which flows south from Amador Valley into Alameda Creek. Arroyo Valle and Arroyo Mocho feed the Laguna from the mountains to the east. José Maria Amador was one of the first Spanish settlers to Murray township in 1835, and the town of Amador, which became Dublin, developed from his property. The town of Livermore arose from a station on the Central Pacific railroad in 1869.

Corral Hollow Corral Hollow, formed by Corral Hollow Creek, is a canyon partially located in Alameda County, with parts in San Joaquin County, southwest of Tracy, California. Corral Hollow Creek, formerly El Arroyo de los Buenos Ayres (The Creek of the Good ...

, on the eastern border of the county, was a pass in which coal was discovered in 1860. Pleasanton was located in the former Rancho Valle de San Jose, where the population grew rapidly from 1861. Rancho Santa Rita, or Alviso, was located to the east. Altamont was another town with a post office in the region.

References

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History

Notable locations

References

Cross-reference

Reference bibliography

Further reading