In 1834, Dr. Benjamin F. Edwards and Thomas Mather, both investors and speculators, attempt ed to lay out a town called Girard, largely on the site of the present town, but the plat was never recorded, and the only improvement was a brick kiln on the west edge of the town site. In 1835, John Henderson established a stagecoach stop at a crossroads one anda half miles north of the future site of Girard, later sold to John Virden. . . Read more in MACOUPIN COUNTY, ILLINOIS HISTORY & FAMILIES available in our genealogy library or through this website.