Snowden Hall
Snowden Hall is a historic Georgian brick house in Laurel, Maryland, once the seat of a Snowden family plantation and later adapted for government use at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.
Last updated September 26, 2026
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Overview
Snowden Hall is a historic house located on the grounds of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, outside Laurel in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It stands on open rolling ground approximately three-quarters of a mile west of the Patuxent River. The building is a two-story Georgian brick house that served as the home of three generations of the Snowden family. The 260-acre parcel of land on which Snowden Hall stands was the nucleus of the Snowden family plantation. The family were slave holders, and more than a hundred slaves were known to gather at Snowden Hall to listen to Bible readings on Sunday mornings. The original Snowden Hall was constructed by Richard Snowden in the 18th century, on a site that formed a portion of a 10,000-acre land grant from King Charles II. Sometime between 1812 and 1816 the Hall burned and was rebuilt as "Rose Cottage." Rose Cottage was subsequently raised to a full two stories in the 1850s. Former slave quarters and a large barn stood on the east side of the property into the 1930s. The property was purchased and renovated for government use in 1936, first as apartments and later as an office building. The low flanking wings were built at that time using bricks from the recently purchased pre-Civil War Duvall plantation house "Gladswood" on the southern section of the research center lands. Snowden Hall is associated with the Patuxent Research Refuge and is documented in the Historic American Buildings Survey.
History
Snowden Hall is a two-story Georgian brick house and was the home of three generations of the Snowden family. The 260-acre parcel of land on which it stands was the nucleus of the Snowden family plantation. The family were slave holders and more than a hundred slaves were known to gather at Snowden Hall to listen to Bible readings on Sunday mornings. The original Snowden Hall was constructed by Richard Snowden in the 18th century. The site is a portion of a 10,000-acre land grant from King Charles II. Sometime between 1812 and 1816 the Hall burned and was rebuilt as "Rose Cottage." Rose Cottage was subsequently raised to a full two stories in the 1850s. Former slave quarters and a large barn were on the east side of the property into the 1930s. The property was purchased and renovated for government use in 1936, first as apartments and later as an office building. The low flanking wings were built at that time using bricks from the recently purchased pre-Civil War Duvall plantation house "Gladswood" on the southern section of the research center lands.
Original Snowden Hall constructed by Richard Snowden in the 18th century.
Snowden Hall burned and was rebuilt as "Rose Cottage" sometime between 1812 and 1816.
Rose Cottage raised to a full two stories in the 1850s.
Property purchased and renovated for government use in 1936, first as apartments and later as an office building.
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