Then came the Civil War, and although Old Girard Station long had been abandoned, the spirit of its pioneer soldiers was abroad in the land, and scores of men and boys went from Anderson Township to fight the Union cause. The old trail was now a highway. Six-horse stages plied between Cincinnati and Portsmouth. A sturdy covered bridge had replaced the ford.
It was but a few years after the close of the Civil War that T. P. White, who had been reared in Bantam, and who, as a boy, had traveled the old Beechmont trail on his way to Cincinnati markets, settled in New Richmond and established there an undertaking business. He was a veteran of the war, having served in the cavalry of the famous General Kilpatrick.
As the years progressed they brought many changes. Where once the silent feet of moccasined Indians tread the black soil of virgin forests, city streets were built. Where pioneers had ridden weary horses over well-used trails, there thundered interurban cars and automobiles. Then the interurban passed from the picture, and the busses came, roaring up the Beechmont hill and on toward Portsmouth, while the shades of the old coach horses looked on in silent wonderment.
And through these years of speed the name of T. P. White and the community of Mt. Washington were drawn closer and closer together. It was more than 30 years ago when the White firm first was called into a Mt. Washington home. It was a long drive then, from New Richmond, down along the old River Road, through Sweetwine, and up the hill into Mt. Washington, but the sturdy teams from the White establishment made it time and again.
Then, with the advent of the automobile, the distance seemed shortened, although, in reality, the miles remained the same. More and more often came the call for service from Cincinnati, Mt. Washington, and the southeastern section of Hamilton county. So, to serve their patrons better, the White firm decided to erect here in this most accessible suburb of Cincinnati, in this populous center of Eastern Hamilton and Western Clermont counties, a beautiful funeral home.