Morgan Territory - Morgan Territory Road

Morgan Territory Road

The 14.5-mile (23.3 km) Morgan Territory Road stretches from Manning Road north of Livermore to Marsh Creek Road east of Clayton, at times a single lane wide—for ten miles (16 km) there is no center line—and with no intersecting through roads. It began as a muddy wagon track linking ranches in the Black Hills and east of Mount Diablo. The northern slope of the road largely follows Marsh Creek. The northern part of the road was officially accepted by Contra Costa County in 1886 and designated “Morgan Road” in 1892.

After realignment the southern section was accepted by the County as a public highway in 1895. A short southern section in Alameda County was designated “Beck Road” in 1907 for John Beck, a nearby landowner, and for some years the through road south was known as Finley Road. The southern section rises from the 600’ contour to 2,063’ at the summit. A quarter mile section with a 14% grade is known as “the Levy” for early landowner Samuel Levy, who owned the adjoining property. A “summer road” until 1937, the southern road section was graveled from Manning to the Levy; locals called it the “Black Hills Road.” The northern section from the last creek bridge north was graveled in the 1930s. The road was paved in the 1950s. Bowerman (1944) shows the road as the “Livermore Road”, according to historian Annie Homan.