JC Craver-The "Father" of Ozona & Palm Harbor

JC Craver’s Bar and Grill is located at 191 Orange St. in Ozona.  Aside from being a great place to meet friends, share a meal and listen and dance to bands on the weekends, the name of this restaurant has its roots in the history of Palm Harbor.

James C. Craver (1849-1920) is considered an important local historical icon who documented much of his life in daily diary entries. Craver  is considered the Father of  Ozona and Palm Harbor.  

Mr. Craver settled in the Palm Harbor area in 1877 from Illinois after he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and advised to seek a better climate.   At the time he was diagnosed, he was studying at the Illinois State University to earn his teaching degree.   

Mr. Craver began his life in Palm Harbor by building a cottage and ranching, farming, foresting, and fishing for a living.  In 1878, he applied at the Post Office Commission and received authorization to open and run the Bay St. Joseph Post Office out of his cottage.  

He outgrew his cottage/post office and relocated it to what is now Tampa Road and County Road 1.  He opened a general store with the new post office on the 160 acres he was able to secure through a homestead grant.  The post office name was changed again from Yellow Bluff to Sutherland in 1888. 

As a postmaster, Mr. Craver paddled a skiff to St. Petersburg or Tampa to retrieve mail and deliver it personally to the community.  He eventually built a residence at the corner of 12^th Street and Michigan Avenue and relocated the post office/general store to Florida Avenue and 12^th Street.  The general store still stands today on Florida Avenue as the Sutherland Masonic Lodge #174 and is considered Pinellas County’s oldest building.  

Mr. Craver never married or had a family of his own.  He became a much respected member of the community through his good deeds.  He extended credit at the general store when a family needed help.  No one went without while JC Craver ran his store.  He taught grade school and started the College Library at Southern College with donated books. Due to fires in the 1920s in Sutherland, the college relocated out of the area and is now called Florida Southern College in Lakeland.   

Mr. Craver became the founding Worshipful Master of the Sutherland Masonic Lodge.  He also donated the land where was built.

The Palm Harbor Historical Society has a J.C. Craver diary on display at the North Pinellas Historical Museum.  There are four of these diaries dating back to 1878 when he first began chronicling his life in the Palm Harbor area.

The diary was digitally scanned and transferred into a readable document.  It was a difficult task because of missing or faded words, but a task that was completed with much reverence for the Father of Palm Harbor.  This author had an opportunity to identify some of these words during the project that involved volunteers, students and Society members.  

Mr. Craver is not forgotten at JC Cravers on Orange Street where patrons are surrounded by historical photos of him and “old” Palm Harbor.  Visit JC Cravers and the North Pinellas Historical Museum to experience some ambiance Mr. Craver left behind for everyone.