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History in a Pecan
ShellBorn with
the arrival of the Stamford and Northwestern Railway about 1909, the community
was named for the bookkeeper for the Swenson Land and Cattle Company. Mr. Swenson
donated the railroad’s right-of-way and thought enough of his bookkeeper to name
the town after him. The community received a post office that same year (1909).
The early 1900s were kind to Girard and it could boast twenty businesses by the
1920s, including a hotel, an ice plant, theater and a newspaper. Unfortunately
no population figures are available for this period.
Girard was hit hard
by the Great Depression and the postwar exodus to urban areas. By the 1980s the
population was well below 200 and what few businesses were left were of the agricultural
variety. The community’s three churches remain active.
Between the 1990
census and the 2000 census the population has declined by half to a mere 62 prople.
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1920s
Kent County Map showing Girard (Near Dickens County line)
Courtesy
of Texas General Land Office |
1940s
Kent County Map showing Girard
Courtesy of Texas General Land Office |
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