Published in the Aug. 19 – Sept. 1, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Mike Monroe
Mike Monroe
Murphy Springs Park became an official historic park of the city of Morgan Hill in 1990. Just 25 years ago, community interest in this small patch of ground at the end of Murphy Springs Court was piqued when initial excavations for a new housing project unearthed artifacts from Morgan Hill’s earliest inhabitants.
About 4,000 years ago Matalan peoples lived at Murphy Springs or used the area as a seasonal food processing site. Since there were no human remains found, it is unlikely that the site was a permanent village. Yet the location was attractive to the Matalan because of the dependable supply of water bubbling from springs that flowed from the hillside.
There had been two primary Matalan village sites – one called Tomol located near Chesbro Reservoir and one near Coyote and referred to by archaeologists as Matalan. These communities belonged to the Tamien-speaking subset of the Ohlone Indians. Ohlone is a common name referring to all of the First Peoples in the Bay Area, but their descendants in Santa Clara County are more precise and refer to themselves as Amah-Mutsun or Muwekma.
Most of the Matalan people were assimilated into the Mission Santa Clara de Assisi and very little of their particular culture remains. What we know of their story is found in the earth of our valley – the land they called home for so many generations.
The archaeological dig, under the supervision of Alan Leventhal of San Jose State University, sifted through mounds of dirt. The process yielded stone tools of the Matalan including mortars, pestles and metates which are large, flat grinding stones. Other stones used for cutting vegetable or animal material and arrowheads were also unearthed.
The park is significant to Morgan Hill’s history for another reason. Due to the reliable water source of the nearby springs, Juan Maria Hernandez, a Mexican poblador (settler) applied for land grant in 1835 from Governor Figueroa which he and his family named Ojo de Aqua de la Coche or “Pig Springs.” The Hernandez family built an adobe home near the original Matalan encampment and close by to the winter route of the El Camino Real. In 1845, Martin Murphy Sr. purchased the 8,900-acre grant and the adobe which was the start of his family’s land ownership empire. The original land grant followed Tilton Avenue to the north and Tennant Avenue to the south and ran across the valley to Coyote Ridge.
The adobe structure is now dust and there is no evidence as to the exact location of where the home was situated. All that is left are memories of the Matalan people and the Hernandez and Murphy families.
When we park next to the Stratford School, though,we can recall the days when this building served as Morgan Hill’s primary elementary school which resided at the intersection of Monterey Road and Dunne Avenue for more than 70 years.
One aspect of our conversation I hope will come up is that of Llagas Valley. The main branch of Llagas Creek is impounded by Chesbro Reservoir and then flows through Paradise Valley and under Watsonville and Monterey roads to meet the Pajaro River. The creek that meanders across Llagas Road close to Murphy Springs is West Little Llagas and it has been the source of much flooding of downtown over the years.
See you at Murphy Springs. Keep on sauntering!
Mike Monroe is a business owner and naturalist. He is a docent for Santa Clara County Parks.
