In 1859, a telegraph line was constructed between Oakland and Martinez by the Alta Telegraph Company, and the existing roads which ran alongside it were then renamed "Telegraph Road". The segment of the Telegraph Road which ran from downtown Oakland out to the Peralta estate in Temescal was first known as the "Peralta Road". The segment which ran to and up Harwood's (now Claremont) Canyon was first known as "Harwood's Road", named for William Harwood, an early Oakland politician who leased grazing land in the canyon.