Dealing with Commercial Fire Damage to Morgan Hill Businesses

1/22/2021 (Permalink)

Fire damage may cause severe issues. Call the professionals at SERVPRO for the fire restoration services needed.

For professional commercial fire damage repair, call SERVPRO.

Appreciation of Morgan Hill's beauty goes back for more than a century before even having its name. A Spanish expedition, led by Father Juan Crespi and Pedro Fages, camped in the area near Llagas Creek in 1772. Impressed by the natural beauty, the site became a popular stop for Spanish soldiers a few years later, traveling from New Spain to Alta California. 

Independence and Shaping the Future

After Mexico won its independence from Spain, much of California was allotted for private ownership to its citizens. In 1835, a large section of what is today’s Morgan Hill was granted to Juan Maria Hernandez. Ten years later, a naturalized Mexican citizen, Martin Murphy, Sr., purchased the area and gave it the name Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche or “Pig’s Spring Ranch.” 

Celebrating Life, Mourning Death, and Joining Estates

In 1850, Daniel Murphy (youngest son of Martin Sr.) married Maria Fisher, who had inherited the Rancho Laguna Seca or “Dry Lake Ranch.” This added 19,000 acres to the family’s land wealth. Three years later, Martin Sr.’s father, Bernard Murphy, died, much of his holdings to Martin, but with a significant bequeathal to Catherine, Martin’s mother. Through her subsequent marriage to James Dunne and other events, the Murphy family came to own about 70,000 acres by 1870. 

Twelve years later, Daniel and Maria’s daughter met and married Hiram Morgan Hill, bringing into the family the name that means so much to residents today. Over the next four years (1882-1886), the couple updated buildings on their holdings and built an entirely new weekend residence, Villa Mira Monte, or Mountain View Estate. Unfortunately, a family scandal made them pariahs to the high society of the time. Soon after Villa Mira Monte was completed, they began dividing their time almost exclusively between San Francisco and Washington D.C. 

Reducing Holdings and Cementing a Legacy.

By 1892, the family decided it was time to liquidate property that they had rarely visited. Shortly thereafter, their holdings were reduced to Villa Mira Monte and a surrounding area of 200 acres. The area was known by then as “Morgan Hill’s Ranch,” and the name stuck, despite the Southern Pacific’s attempt to name the local station and area, Huntingdon. In 1906, on November 10th, it became official when the planned community was incorporated as the Town of Morgan Hill. 

The Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906

Fortunately, the San Francisco earthquake earlier that year did not damage Morgan Hill businesses or homes. When fires happen today, businesses rarely suffer a total loss. Damage is often limited to the following:

• Smoke Residues
• Odor-Causing Particles

To eliminate or reduce the damaging effects, SERVPRO technicians use cleaning agents not available to the general public. They can remove residues on everything from the breakroom, marble counters to more delicate surfaces like hanging pictures and art, paint, and drywall without further damaging them. Many of these products also contain an odor-eliminating chemical that breaks down odor-causing particles, eliminating them. 

If commercial fire damage has closed your business, call SERVPRO of Morgan Hill / Gilroy at (408) 500-0657 to reopen quickly and safely. We are here for you.