Editing Girard, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
Girard's history began with a petition to "Township Status" in 1832 by reassigning lands previously allocated to neighboring municipalities (Springfield, Fairview, and Elk Creek). The name is in honor of [[Stephen Girard]], a banking tycoon of the late 1700s and early 1800s.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n137 138]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=Girard Chamber of Commerce; History of Girard| url=http://www.girardlakecity.org/girard-lake-city-chamber-of-commerce-history-and-mission| access-date=2014-01-27| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825012158/http://www.girardlakecity.org/girard-lake-city-chamber-of-commerce-history-and-mission| archive-date=2016-08-25| url-status=dead}}</ref> Stephen Girard, a resident of [[Philadelphia]] at that time, was chosen for a variety of reasons. He owned much of the neighboring [[Springfield Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania|Springfield Township]], and had been admired by the residents in the region. Additionally, Girard officials had been lobbying with Stephen Girard's foundation, upon his death in 1831, to be the site of the bequeathed [[Girard College]]. Despite this attempt, his family and will executors chose to establish the [[boarding school]] in Philadelphia where Stephen Girard had a long-standing tradition as a local philanthropist.