Blythwood - the home of D. H. Sanders and family

Blythewood - as it looked in 1968   

  Information taken from the book Amite Now and Then, by Edwin Schilling.

     

Daniel Hardy Sanders was a banker and businessman in Amite at the turn of the century. He was one of the founders of Amite Bank and Trust Company and for many years was it's president. He was a provider of goods--grocery, clothing, hardware,feed and seed to the community through his retail stores.

Daniel Hardy purchased a 640 acre tract of land lying between Duncan Avenue and the Tangipahoa River in 1890.  The property contained a large home "Blythewood" which was destroyed by fire several years later. He built another home a few hundred yards to the east which he also named "Blythewood" in about 1905.

He grew cotton on his land and developed deposits of sand and gravel.  He gained a considerable part of his wealth as a cotton broker, negotiating contracts throughout south Louisiana.

Blythewood has had a long history.

Blythewood in 1910 from a Picture Postcard

After a storm in 1940?

For many years when the house stood silent, lived
in only by Mrs Adeline Sanders Gilreath, people
and children in the neighborhood grew accustomed
to seeing her drive a 1925 Studebaker up through
the late 1960's

Many told stories that during the 1950's and 60's
they feared going near the place.

Blythewood today