History & local legend
Dravo Cemetery lies beside the Great Allegheny Passage at a bend in the Youghiogheny River. Cyclists now travel the former railroad corridor, but local ghost stories say a train still passes through. Another tale gives the cemetery a stranger visitor: a dog with two heads roaming among the graves.
The railway also played a role in the burial ground’s history. A local historian interviewed for WQED’s The Great Ride explained that a spark from a passing locomotive set fire to the wooden Methodist church that once stood beside the cemetery.
The surviving graves remain part of the trail landscape. During a 2026 cleanup, volunteers clearing a fallen cherry tree discovered three more upright headstones hidden behind it.
Sources
- WQED, The Great Ride: Landmarks Along the Trail, Dravo on-location interviews and historical society account, transcript hosted by Jax PBS
- Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy, description of the former church and adjacent campground
- Mon Valley Independent, Earth Day Cleanup at Dravo Cemetery, May 1, 2026
- U.S. Geological Survey, Dravo Cemetery, GNIS 1173460
- WQED, The Great Ride transcript on PBS
