Rancho San Bernardo was a

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement fo ...

in present-day

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego ( es, Condado de San Diego, link=), is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's sec ...

with two square leagues given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado and an additional two square leagues given in 1845 by Governor

Pío Pico Don Pío de Jesús Pico (May 5, 1801 – September 11, 1894) was a Californio politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the last governor of California (present-day U.S. state of California) under Mexican rule. A member of t ...

to José Francisco Snook. The grant was between present-day Escondido and Poway, and encompassed present-day Rancho Bernardo, 4S Ranch, the San Pasqual Valley, and Lake Hodges.

History

Joseph Snook (1798–1848), an Englishman, had been since 1824 a mariner along the Mexican coast, in the employ of Virmond, as master of the English brig Avacucho and later of the Mexican brig Catalina. In 1833, he became a Mexican citizen, and changed his name to Jose Francisco Snook. In 1837, Snook married Maria Antonia Alvarado (1811–), daughter of Juan Bautista Alvarado, grantee of Rancho Rincon del Diablo, which formed the north boundary of Rancho San Bernardo. In 1838, Snook and his wife took over an portion (known as the “Inverness Pocket”) of Berry’s

Rancho Punta de los Reyes Rancho Punta de los Reyes was a Mexican land grant in present day Marin County, California, given in 1836 by Governor Nicolás Gutiérrez to James Richard Berry. The grant was east of Rancho Las Baulines and south of Rancho Tomales y Baulines. Hi ...

grant near

Tomales Bay Tomales Bay is a long, narrow inlet of the Pacific Ocean in Marin County in northern California in the United States. It is approximately long and averages nearly wide, effectively separating the Point Reyes Peninsula from the mainland of Mar ...

, and eventually gained title to it from Governor Alvarado. In 1839, Snook sold this land to Antonio Osio, and they returned to San Diego County. By 1842, Snook had received the two square league Rancho San Bernardo land grant from Governor Alvarado. In 1845 Snook convinced Governor Pico to add two square leagues. While Snook was away at sea, the rancho became the site of the 1846

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Second Federal Republic of Mexico, Mexico f ...

Battle of San Pasqual The Battle of San Pasqual, also spelled San Pascual, was a military encounter that occurred during the Mexican–American War in what is now the San Pasqual Valley community of the city of San Diego, California. The series of military skirmishes ...

. Snook died in 1848 and his widow married Henry Clayton, who came to San Diego with the Mexican boundary survey. With the

cession The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdict ...

of California to the United States following the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexic ...

, the 1848

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho San Bernardo was filed with the

Public Land Commission The California Land Act of 1851 (), enacted following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the admission of California as a state in 1850, established a three-member Public Land Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican l ...

in 1852, and the grant was

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

to María Antonia Alvarado de Snook in 1874. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886
In 1867, Snook's heirs sold Rancho San Bernardo to Thomas Fox acting for James McCoy, sheriff and state senator in 1868. McCoy had come to San Diego in 1850 as a soldier, and become one of the most influential citizens of the early American days. McCoy sold to Charles Wetmore, Sylvester Lyman and Omar Oaks. In 1886, Charles Snook of England sued Wetmore, Lyman and Oaks to recover a 2/9 interest in Rancho San Bernardo.

References

{{California history San Bernardo (Snook) San Bernardo (Snook) 1842 establishments in Alta California

History

See also

References