A history of excellence for more than 50 years…

Mountbatten House, Inc was built by the Daughters of the British Empire. This story goes back a long way – to 1909 – when the D.B.E. started in New York and the Founder, Mrs. J. Elliot Langstaff, decided that the charitable purpose of the Society should be the foundation and maintenance of Homes for the elderly.

In the fall of 1979, members went shopping for a piece of land for the Southern District Home and ended up in Highlands, Texas, for many reasons.  It was a small community.  It was accessible from Houston.  It was close to shops and churches and a library.  It was a wooded lot on a residential street with no restrictions against a Retirement Home and, IT WAS CHEAP!

Mr. Ernest Sandlin, devoted many hours to the project, designed the building, and put it out for bids.  His small fee did not begin to cover the time he spent on the job.  The contractor, Mr. M.A. Rife, made every effort to please everyone in the final product.  Construction began with many problems along the way.  Finally, we had a beautiful, sturdy building, which was tastefully decorated by Gail O’Brien, Elaine Jones, and Mavis Olafson Sanders. Peggy Harrison was responsible for equipping the kitchen. There were some minor things about the building that they wished could have been different – chiefly on account of state requirements – but they expected to make modifications in the future.   The miracle was that only $45,000.00 had to be borrowed, instead of the $100,000.00 previously anticipated.

The name “Mountbatten House” was chosen by popular vote of all Southern District members and members were delighted to have this name unveiled by HRH Princess Anne, at a tea that summer.  They were most grateful to Mrs. William Woodruff Bland for underwriting the expenses of the tea and for the donation of some beautiful antique furniture to the Home, as well as a complete set of Wedgwood dinnerware.

Denise A. Withers, M.B.E.
Honorary National Vice President
Daughters of the British Empire, 1983