Photo Provided Marion Stolz, left, and Erica Keller prepare for the upcoming All American Banquet on Tuesday.

BELLAIRE — The Great Stone Viaduct Society is gearing up to host its annual All American Banquet.

The event, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Sons of Italy in Bellaire, will be catered by Outback Steakhouse. Dinner is included in the price of the ticket and will include steak, salad, potato and dessert. A live auction and a silent auction will take place where attendees can potentially win a number of historical items. A few of those items include a railroad crossing sign and tools that were used in the 1800s and early 1900s.

All of the proceeds raised at the event will go toward ongoing improvements to the viaduct — a historic railroad bridge that curves across the community – and walking trail that has been built atop it.

Great Stone Viaduct Society member Erica Keller said that although the society hosts other fundraising events throughout the year, the All American Banquet is one of its biggest.

“The event itself is one of our larger fundraisers. We typically raise around $3,000, give or take, per event. We do count on that to help us fund different events and help with our projects throughout the year,” Keller said. “We do run some free events, which helps us be able to finance those events.”

According to Ohio.org, the viaduct was built in 1871 by the Central Ohio Railroad to carry north and eastbound rail service across the Ohio River to Benwood, West Virginia, and beyond. CSX Railroad abandoned a portion of the viaduct but retained the balance, which is still in use today.

In 2015, with $80,000 raised locally, the Great Stone Viaduct Education Society purchased the abandoned viaduct. After years of fundraising, the Great Stone Viaduct walking trail was opened to the public in October 2022.

“The event does bring a lot of local people together so that they can spend an evening together and catch up on things and have fun and a nice dinner in the process,” Keller said. “A lot of people who love history usually come. We’ve had some great successes in the past. We’ve been joined by several local representatives and some at the state level at past events. We’ve had a lot of good times and some great auctions in the past.”

She said the goal of the society is to preserve history in Bellaire as well as continue to bring as many possibilities to Bellaire and the Ohio Valley as a whole as the organization can.

The viaduct bringing opportunities to the Ohio Valley isn’t a new idea. In 2010 the Denzel Washington and Chris Pine-led movie “Unstoppable” about the true story of a runaway train featured the structure. The climatic point of the film takes place at the Great Stone Viaduct. That movie provided many area residents the opportunity to audition for and appear in roles as extras in the film.