O
A Sense of Place
Villa Mira Monte
f the
many
historical
treasure
we enjoy in southern Santa Clara County,
one of the most well-preserved and
accessible properties is Villa Mira Monte,
the home of Hiram Morgan Hill and his
wife, the heiress Diana Murphy Hill.
Construction of home began in 1884, two
years after the passing of Diana’s father,
66
Written By Mike Monroe
Daniel Murphy. Books have been writ-
ten about the pioneering Murphy family
who crossed the continent from Missouri,
successfully traversing the Sierra in 1845,
and arriving in the Santa Clara Valley with
the patriarch, Martin Murphy Sr. finally
settling in San Martin. Diana’s father
accumulated vast holdings of real estate
in South County as well as in Nevada and
Mexico. Several members of the family
were successful in the gold fields and the
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
MARCH/APRIL 2017
town of Murphy’s is named for their place
in history during the Gold Rush times.
Although born in the wide open ranch
lands of San Martin, Daniel Murphy’s
daughter decided early on to enjoy the
cosmopolitan lifestyle. Diana grew up
in San Jose and the excitement of San
Francisco was not far away. Morgan Hill
(he preferred not to use his first name,
Hiram) also hailed from Missouri and
was a socialite himself with a position
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