John F. Dravo was born in West Newton, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in 1819. He attended public school in his home town, high school in Pittsburgh, and Allegheny College in Meadville. His father was a coal merchant in McKeesport, and John learned the coal business in his father's office. He embarked in trade for himself in Pittsburgh, with a partner, in 1845 and operated very successfully until 1880. In 1854, he founded the town of Dravosburg. In 1860, he was elected President of the Pittsburgh Coal Exchange, which position he held continuously for ten years.
John Dravo moved to River Road in Beaver in 1864, and soon became deeply involved with the advancement of the borough, although still retaining his extensive business interests in Pittsburgh. In 1868 he organized and was principal stockholder of the Pittsburgh & Connellsville Gas, Coal and Coke Company, serving as its General Manager and Treasurer until 1883 when he retired from business.
Dravo is generally credited with having done more than any other man to secure improved navigation on the Ohio and Monongahela Rivers. Today's splendid waterway evolved directly from his early and successful work in promoting needed improvements by the Corps of U.S. Army Engineers. He was also one of the most active promoters of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, and served for several years on its Board of Directors.
Mr. Dravo's political career was almost as remarkable as his business career. He was one of the organizers of the Republican Party and a delegate to the 1860 convention that nominated Lincoln for the Presidency. In 1887 he had the honor of nominating Matthew S. Quay of Beaver for the United States Senate. He twice held the position of Collector of Customs and Surveyor of the Port of Pittsburgh, and also served two terms as State Representative.
In addition to all of this, he was active in many church and community affairs, serving for many years as Sabbath School Superintendent at the Methodist Church, as Trustee of Allegheny College, and as President of the Board of Trustees of Beaver College and Musical Institute.
An indication of the respect in which John Dravo was held by local residents is the fact that Beaver's Raccoon Street was renamed in his honor and is now known as Dravo Avenue.
Because Dravo is a rather unusual family name, you are perhaps wondering if John Dravo was involved in founding the Dravo Corporation, which is one of the 500 largest companies in the United States and last year had revenues of over $800 million. He was not; however, Francis and Ralph Dravo, who started the business in 1887 as Dravo Brothers, were descended from the same common ancestor as John Dravo. His name was Anthony Dravo, and he was a native of France.
Anthony was working as a gardener on the estate near Paris of a Marquis LeSuer at the time of the French Revolution. With the fall of the Bastille in 1789, the Marquis was forced to flee for his life, bringing Anthony with him to the Monongahela River area of Western Pennsylvania. The Marquis later was permitted to return to France to live out his remaining years, but Anthony Dravo decided to stay in America. He moved to Pittsburgh and started a pioneer florist business, later becoming a naturalized citizen. He married and had ten children, from whom most or all of the Dravos of Western Pennsylvania are descended.
So, while we cannot credit the Dravo Corporation to John Dravo, others of his family line had that distinction, and John's own accomplishments were so great that he really does not need this added recognition.
This prominent man, who contributed so much to both Beaver and Pittsburgh, died in 1905.