Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche facts for kids
Rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche was a huge piece of land in what is now Santa Clara County, California. It was about 8,927 acres (3,612 hectares) big! In 1835, the Mexican Governor José Figueroa gave this land as a special gift, called a Mexican land grant, to a person named Juan María Hernandez. The name "Ojo de Agua de la Coche" means "pig's spring." This land stretched south from another rancho called Rancho Laguna Seca. It was located between Coyote Creek and Llagas Creek. Today, the city of Morgan Hill is built on part of this old rancho.
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The Story of Rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche
Early Owners of the Rancho
Juan Maria Jorge Hernandez, who was born in 1776, married Maria Francisca Lorenzana in 1800. In 1835, he received the land grant for Rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche. This grant was for about two square leagues of land.
The Murphy Family Takes Over
In 1846, a man named Martin Murphy, Sr. bought the Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche. Martin Murphy, Sr. had moved his family to California in 1844. They were part of a group called the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party. His son, Martin Murphy, Jr., later became the founder of the city of Sunnyvale.
Two of Martin Murphy, Sr.'s other sons, John and Daniel, found gold in the Sierra Nevada mountains. They then became very rich by selling goods to miners and Native Americans. The town they started in the Sierra foothills is still named after their family: Murphys. In 1851, Daniel Murphy married Maria Fisher. Her family owned the neighboring Rancho Laguna Seca. Martin Murphy, Sr. passed away in 1865.
The Rancho Becomes Part of the United States
After the Mexican-American War, California became part of the United States. This happened in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This treaty said that the United States would respect the land grants given by Mexico.
Because of a law called the Land Act of 1851, people who owned Mexican land grants had to prove their ownership. So, in 1853, a claim for Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche was filed. The government officially recognized the grant and gave a special document, called a patent, to Murphy's son, Bernard Murphy, in 1860.
Changes in Ownership
Sadly, Bernard Murphy died in 1853. He was killed in an explosion on a steamboat called the "Jenny Lind." In 1854, his brother Daniel Murphy (who died in 1881) took over running Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche.
When Daniel Murphy passed away in 1881, his daughter Diana and his son Daniel Jr. inherited the land grant. Diana Murphy inherited about 4,500 acres (1,821 hectares) of the ranch. In 1882, she married Hiram Morgan Hill. Later, in 1892, Diana Murphy sold her part of Rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche to a real estate developer named Chauncey Hatch Phillips.
