Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, located at the southern end of Silicon Valley within the San Francisco Bay Area.

Prior to the arrival of Spanish colonists, Santa Clara Valley had been inhabited by the Tamien nation of Ohlone people for more than 6,000 years.

With the founding of Mission Santa Clara de Asís in 1777, the lands of present-day Morgan Hill were granted to the Roman Catholic Church.

[7] In 1845, Martin Murphy Sr., an Irish-born Mexican citizen, acquired the area and named it Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche.

By the late 1850s, Californio ranchero José María Malaguerra began cultivating vineyards in Madrone, then an independent township just north of Morgan Hill.

[11] By 1886, the family chose to live primarily at the Ojo del Agua rancho, as they jointly inherited 22,000 acres (8,900 ha) around the estate.

[7] In 1892, Hiram Morgan Hill contracted land developer C. H. Phillips to divide and liquidate the Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche, only retaining the Villa Mira Monte estate and the surrounding 200 acres (81 ha), which the Hill family would hold until 1916.

[7] On November 10, 1906, the planned community, a result of the divisions of C. H. Phillips, was incorporated as the Town of Morgan Hill.

In 1913, Hiram Morgan Hill died at his Elko estate in Nevada, thus leaving his properties to his daughter.

Although there are no natural lakes or ponds within the city limits, there are several flood-control and water storage reservoirs in the adjacent hills which are operated by the Santa Clara Valley Water District, with recreational activities such as boating, etc., administered by the Santa Clara County Department of Parks and Recreation.

The significant earthquakes in the region are generally associated with crustal movements along well-defined, active fault zones.

Both faults have produced major earthquakes in the past, and have estimated maximum credible Richter magnitudes of 8.3 and 7.3, respectively.

[14] According to geologists, this local variety of orbicular jasper formed through a combination of volcanic and seismic activity on the slopes of El Toro.

According to a local legend of the early 1900s, author Bret Harte named the hill when he climbed it and discovered two bulls fighting near the summit (they subsequently chased him back down).

The official name shown on the U.S. Geological Survey's maps is simply "El Toro", but it has been deemed "Murphy's Peak" by locals.

[17] Visitors, not aware of the origin of the town's name, often mistakenly assume that El Toro is "Morgan" Hill.

The local climate supports chaparral and grassland biomes, with stands of live oak at higher elevations.

This population expansion was enabled by the removal of a growth constraint in the form of sewage treatment capacity.

[28] Business Insider ranked Morgan Hill as the 479th most expensive housing market in the United States, owing to its concentration of high-net-worth individuals and restrictive growth policies.

Notable high tech companies that are headquartered or have their American headquarters in Morgan Hill include Anritsu (Japanese telecommunications company), Flextronics (the world's second largest electronics-manufacturing service provider), Velodyne (sensor and laser developer), Hypnos Entertainment[35] (video game company), Toray Advanced Composites (Dutch advanced composite materials manufacturer), and Paramit Corporation, a high tech medical device manufacturer.

High tech companies that have research and development or manufacturing facilities in Morgan Hill include the Harris Corporation (information and defense contractor based in the Madrone district), Infineon Technologies (semiconductor and chip manufacturer), and NxEdge Inc., a semiconductor and business solutions company.

According to the city's 2018 Employment Report, the top employers in the city are:[36] The Mushroom Mardi Gras Festival is an annual celebration established in 1980 by fire chief Brad Spencer,[37][38] who wanted to raise money for his fire department affected by Prop 13.

It was established in 2004 by Mattie Scariot as a fundraiser on MHAT, Morgan Hill's public-access television channel.

Federally, Morgan Hill is in California's 19th congressional district, represented by Democrat Jimmy Panetta.

[49] The Morgan Hill Police Department is tasked with ensuring public safety within the city's incorporated borders.

[51][52] Morgan Hill's public high schools are: Alongside its traditional schools, MHUSD, in special partnership with The Tech Interactive, a leading Silicon Valley institution, operates 4 specialized public "focus academies", through its innovative Tech Academies Initiative:[54] Focus Academies will provide the opportunity for students to specialize their studies within broad fields (engineering, STEAM, math, music, health sciences), allowing for greater, in-depth learning within subjects within programs designed by noted subject matter experts, including scientists from The Tech Museum of Innovation and Stanford University medical professors.