Morgan Territory Regional Preserve

 

Morgan Territory Regional Preserve is a regional park located east of Clayton and north of Livermore, California, bordering Mt. Diablo State Park, part of the East Bay Regional Park District. Since the EBRPD had acquired the Viera system, it encompassed 5,230 acres (2,120 ha). The main access road is from Livermore.

 

Popular park activities include camping, hiking, horseback riding and picnicking. Reservation is required to use the backpacking camp site, but the camping site is not wheelchair accessible. Picnic sites are not subject to reservation. Dogs are allowed and no fee is charged for their admission.

 

In the dawn of time, according to native American folklore, Tuyshtak (today's Mount Diablo) was the sacred birthplace of the world. The supernatural beings, the First People, were living here. First People are often referred to as animals whose attributes are reflected in their personalities-animals such as Condor (Mollock), Prairie Falcon, Eagle and Coyote. These characters were the creators of native Americans, and provided them with a rich, beautiful world.

 

Most of the park's trails are named to commemorate the First People (Coyote, Fox and Eagle trails), while other names refer to natural features (Valley View, Blue Oak and Highland Ridge trails). The Hog Canyon and Jeremiah trails hark back to the past of the park.

 

Morgan Territory is located within the traditional homeland of Volvon, one of the five native American nations in the Diablo area that spoke Bay Miwuk dialects. Their way of life was characterized by a rich heritage of social , political , economic and religious traditions — a tradition built on thousands of years of living with the land, during which new ideas, technologies and Indian groups came into the area.

 

After 1772, when the Spanish began exploring the East Bay, their world changed dramatically. Diseases killed a large number of people in crowded, unsanitary missions, while Spanish military expeditions killed others. Volvon was one of the Native American groups that resisted the Spanish mission, but by 1806 the resistance had faded. The change from the old way of life was completed in the early years of American settlement, although many California native Americans continue to practice the traditions of their ancestors while living in the context of modern life.

 

Morgan Territory is named after Jeremiah Morgan, who was born on the banks of the Tennessee River in Alabama in 1818. Morgan and six companions crossed the plains to California with an ox-drawn wagon in 1849. After a short time as a gold miner, Morgan left California for Iowa, only to return to his family in 1853. In 1857 he started a ranch in the area that we know as Morgan Territory after seeing the land on a hunting expedition.

 

There is one main staging area located at a pass with an elevation of 2 030 feet (620 m). The Volvon Trails follows a ridge from this pass, maintaining an elevation of approximately 1,900 feet (580 m). The highest point in the park is on the Highland Ridge, at an altitude of 2,317 feet (706 m).

 

There are camping areas where water is available and toilets are located. Apart from the main staging area, an area with toilets and a camping / picnic area can be found on the Roger Epperson Ridge along the Highland Ridge Trail.