Girardville, PA
Girardville was named after Stehen Girard, mariner, merchant and philanthropist who in 1830 purchased 67 tracts of land, including the 320 acre tract that was to become Girardville.
The tracts were part of a land grant given to William Penn by King Charles II of England in 1681 and remained in the Penn Family until 1775 when sold by Penn's heirs.
A financial tycoon of his time, Girard became a merchant seaman at 14 and a ship's captain at 23. Although Girard died in 1831, his will provided for the development of his properties.
In 1832 under the direction of William Boyd appointed supervisor of the land, the first buildings in Girardville were constructed: a hotel known as the Girard House which stood where St. Vincent's
Church now stands, and Boyd's home, the Mansion. The Mansion also house the real estate office. Girard had been a heavy stockholder and promoter of the Pottsville-Danville Railroad which by 1835 was completed
as far as Girardville. It was not until 1870 that the line was extended to Williamsort. The primary reason of the railroad was for transportation of coal but it also supplied the town with freight and passsanger service.
Incorporation and Expansion
E.C. Wagner, assistant superintendent of Girard Estate in 1869 had a great effect on Girardville's growth. He laid out the streets and plans for building lots. These imiprovements along with the mining industry played a large part
in the growth of the population which had increased to 3,000 people by 1870. The townspeople realizing the need for proper community government took steps to have Girardville incorporated a borough. The community was granted a charter
June 4, 1872.
The first schoolhouse was located on East Mahanoy Avenue in 1841. In 1872 another school was established in the West Ward known as "The Old White School". About 1875 a two-story building was erected on Second Street consisting of two rooms and in 1876 the "Old Second Street School" was
constructed with four rooms.
In 1896 a new high school building was erected on the corner of Second and Oak streets. Due to over crowding of public schools the Episcopal Church on Ogden Street was rented. In 1921 the school distsrict purchased the building (which is now the Rangers Hose Company). The building housed the three primary grades.
In 1926 the district rented Beneshunas Hall and converted it into two school rooms. That same year St. Vincent's building was completed with six classrooms and an auditorium. These rooms were rented to the public school system.
On Oct 14, 1936 a formal application for federal aid was made by the school district to construct a high school building. Two years later the high school building was completed. It remained as a high school until 1962 with the merger into Ashland Area Schools. Later Frackville and Ringtown merged to become the North Schuylkill School
District. What was formerly Girardville High School is now the Girardville Elementary Center of North Schuylkill School District.
Businesses
In October, 1890 the first bank, The First National Bank, was established and operated from the Haas building on Main Streeet. In 1916 it moved to William and Main streets where the Pennsylvania National Bank and Trust Company now stands.
The first post office was established in 1864. A new post office building was constructed in Oct. of 1960 on Main Street.
One of the more notable landmarks in the community was the Girard Opera House constructed in 1880. Originally it was operated by a stock company before being secured by Heblick and Lafferty, under whose management three shows a week were shown.
In 1916 Frank Hollister purchased and managed the theatre. In addition to motion pictures, he held professional and amateur boxin and vaudeville shows there. On Feb. 22, 1937 the theater caught fire and all that remained was a brick skeleton. It was rebuilt the same year. When Hollister died the building was sold to Jow Krick and Joe Linebach and was
converted into a skating rink. The rink closed and the building was sold again but has not been used in several years.
****Excerpts used in this article taken from the EVENING HERALD, by Evelyn Marquardt, Chairman, Girardville Sesquicentennial Historical Committee; Also Issue of 150th anniversy of Giradville (this article compiled by this webmaster 1999)
Girardville Pictures
Return to Ashland Area Attractions
Return to Ashland Pennsylvania Genealogy Page Homepage
background courtesy of:
