Rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche was a

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...

in present-day

Santa Clara County, California Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together for ...

given in 1835 by Governor

José Figueroa José Figueroa (1792 – 29 September 1835), was a General and the Mexican Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835. He wrote the first book to be published in California. Background and governorship Figueroa was a Mestizo of Spanish a ...

to Juan María Hernandez. The name means "pig's spring". The grant extended south from

Rancho Laguna Seca (Alvires) Rancho Laguna Seca (also called "Refugio de la Laguna Seca") was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Juan Alvires. "Laguna Seca" means "Dry Lake" in Spanish, and refers ...

between Coyote Creek and

Llagas Creek Llagas Creek is a perennial stream in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The headwaters rise on the eastern side of Crystal Peak near Loma Prieta. From there, the creek flows northeast along Casa Loma Road, until it reaches Uvas Road, ...

, and encompassed present-day

Morgan Hill Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, at the southern tip of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan Hill is an affluent residential community, the seat of several high-tech companies, and a dining, entertainmen ...

History

Juan Maria Jorge Hernandez (born 1776) married Maria Francisca Lorenzana (1782–1852) in 1800, and received the two square league Rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche in 1835. In 1846, Martin Murphy, Sr. purchased the Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche. Martin Murphy, Sr. brought his family to California with the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party in 1844. Son Martin Murphy, Jr. was the founder of the city of

Sunnyvale Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the north ...

. Murphy's sons, John and Daniel, struck gold in the Sierras, then made a fortune selling dry goods to local miners and Native Americans. The town they established in the Sierra foothills still bears the family name —

Murphys Murphys or Murphy's may refer to: * Murphys, California, United States, an unincorporated village ** Murphys Grammar School, on the National Register of Historic Places ** Murphys Hotel, one of the oldest hotels still operating in California, on ...

. In 1851, Daniel married Maria Fisher, of the neighboring

Rancho Laguna Seca Rancho Laguna Seca was a Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Catalina M. Munrás. "Laguna Seca" means "Dry Lake" in Spanish, referring to the seasonal lake, Laguna Seca. The ...

. Martin Murphy, Sr. died in 1865. With the

cession The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdictio ...

of California to the United States following the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexicans, Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% ...

, the 1848

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche was filed with the

Public Land Commission The California Land Act of 1851 (), enacted following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the admission of California as a state in 1850, established a three-member Public Land Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican la ...

in 1853, and the grant was

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

to Murphy's son, Bernard Murphy in 1860. Bernard Murphy was killed in the explosion of the steamboat "Jenny Lind" en route from Alviso to San Francisco on April 11, 1853. In 1854, Daniel Murphy (d. 1881) took over operation of Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche. When Daniel Murphy died in 1881, daughter Diana and son Daniel Jr. inherited the land grant. Diana Murphy, who inherited of the ranch, married Hiram Morgan Hill in 1882.Hiram Morgan Hill & Diana Helen Murphy
/ref> In 1892, Diana Murphy, sold her portion of Rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche to real estate developer

Chauncey Hatch Phillips Rancho Santa Ysabel was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Luis Obispo County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Francisco Arce. The grant was southeast of present-day Paso Robles, between the Salinas River on the w ...

References

{{California history Ojo de Agua de la Coche

Ojo Ojo may refer to: *Ōjō, a Japanese Buddhist term referring to rebirth in the Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha *Ojo, a curious red bear cub who has a wild imagination and is good friends with Treelo on ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' * ''Ojo'' (comi ...

Morgan Hill, California