Mary Tyson and her sisters, who had opened a seminary in Washington, D.C. in the 1800s, opened their second ("Alnwick") seminary in southwest Laurel in 1855 on part of the Snowden property they purchased, and the Society of Friends provided a non-secular curriculum.

[1] The three-story brick building with a kitchen addition and second wing were built in 1856 by John D. McPherson who bought 50 acres of land just south of the Alnwick Seminary building from the Tyson sisters.

In 1875, French horticulturalist Armand Jardin purchased the property, living onsite until 1904.

In 1926, after a succession of short-term owners, William Gude purchased and restored the property which remained in his family until 1980.

The property was subdivided in 1988 for commercial office parks at Laurel Lakes with 1.3 acres and the Gude house remaining.