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37°49′5.92″N 121°47′45.18″W / 37.8183111°N 121.7958833°W
Morgan Territory is an historic ranching area on the east side of Mount Diablo in San Francisco East Bay's Contra Costa County. It was named after Anglo-American pioneer Jeremiah Morgan, a migrant from Alabama and Iowa who acquired 2000 acres and developed a ranch here, starting in 1857.
The earliest historic occupants had long been small, highly localized tribes of Native Americans, who spoke dialects of the Bay Miwok language. During the Spanish and Mexican periods, the Native Americans were displaced and colonial governments made large grants of land to high-ranking officials. Americans began to buy such properties after moving into the area in the mid-19th century and later. Ranches for livestock and some farms were developed here.
In the mid-20th century, the large ranch holdings were being sold for suburban residential development. Concerned about the loss of open space, in 1975 the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) acquired 930 acres of land to establish the Morgan Territory Regional Preserve, named for the historic area. During the following decades, it expanded this preserve to protect open space, habitat and watersheds for the public. The preserve now totals 5,230 acres (2,120 ha) in area.
In addition, the adjacent Mount Diablo State Park, established in the 1920s, has been part of a trail network connected to the Morgan Territory Regional Preserve . It acquired management and oversight of properties known as Morgan Ranch and Morgan Red Corral in the late 1980s. These lands are related to Morgan's historic ranch and were held by his descendants into the late 20th century.