Built about 1848 for John H. Saunders and his wife, Martha A. Pettit Saunders, this home served as a hospital for soldiers of both armies during the Civil War engagement at Ditch Bayou in 1864. A number of military dead were buried just west of the house. Antonia H. Pettit, sister of Martha Saunders, was reputed to have been the first white child in Chicot County.