Girardville is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, 58 miles (93 km) northwest of Reading. Anthracite coal deposits are in the region. Coal-mining provided employment and incomes for many of the 3,666 people who lived there in 1900. In 1910, 4,396 individuals called it home. The population was 1,742 at the 2000 census. It was founded in 1832 and is named after Stephen Girard of Philadelphia who purchased large land holdings in and around the town. It was incorporated as a borough in 1872. It is known to many in Schuylkill County as "Gun-Town", for reasons unknown. Girardville is the site of an annual St. Patrick's Day parade that is one of the largest in Pennsylvania. It made history on March 29, 2008 when former President Bill Clinton joined the marchers to the delight of 30,000 parade goers that lined the streets of the small coal town. Girardville has three churches, one Primitive Methodist Church and two Roman Catholic Churches, St. Vincent de Paul and St. Joseph. The Reverend Father Edward B. Connolly is Pastor of both Catholic Churches. Father Connolly has appeared on EWTN in the series "Road to Cana".