In 1838, Snook and his wife took over an 8,800-acre (36 km2) portion (known as the “Inverness Pocket”) of Berry’s Rancho Punta de los Reyes grant near Tomales Bay, and eventually gained title to it from Governor Alvarado.
[5] By 1842, Snook had received the two square league Rancho San Bernardo land grant from Governor Alvarado.
[6] With the cession of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored.
[9] In 1867, Snook's heirs sold Rancho San Bernardo to Thomas Fox acting for James McCoy, sheriff and state senator in 1868.
In 1886, Charles Snook of England sued Wetmore, Lyman and Oaks to recover a 2/9 interest in Rancho San Bernardo.