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Great Stone Viaduct Winter Lecture Series

Since 2012, the library has partnered with the Great Stone Viaduct Historical Education Society on a Winter Lecture Series. These programs, featuring presentations of local historical and community topics, are held on Wednesday nights at 6 pm in the Community Room on the lower level of the Library throughout the months of February and March. All Winter Lecture Series programs are free for the public to attend.

LIVE BROADCASTS

This week's program

Those watching from home may ask questions to our presenters by leaving the the question in the comments box of the live stream on Facebook or YouTube. We will pass the questions on to the presenter at the end of the program, and they will answer the questions during the broadcast.

Watching live

Most of the Great Stone Viaduct Winter Lecture Series programs are live-streamed. Viewers may tune in live by visiting our Facebook page or  YouTube channel at 6 pm on the night of a program.

RECORDED BROADCASTS

Recordings of our livestreamed programs are availabe to view on our website following the live broadcasts.

➤ 2026 GSV Winter Lecture Series recordings*
   (*2026 lectures will appear following broadcast)
➤ 2025 GSV Winter Lecture Series recordings
➤ 2024 GSV Winter Lecture Series recordings
➤ 2023 GSV Winter Lecture Series recordings
➤ 2022 GSV Winter Lecture Series recordings
➤ 2021 GSV Winter Lecture Series recordings

2026 SCHEDULE

  • Wed., Feb. 4 at 6 pm
    Affaghans, Worshrags, & Other Things Yunz Say: How to Speak Hoopie
    Retired journalist Fred Miller’s columns take a wry look at everyday life in local history, often discussing spoken dialect and the northern migration of “Hoopies” from the hills and hollers along the Ohio River. His version of a “Hoopie-English Dictionary” is a reader favorite and won a top honor in column writing from the Associated Press. Fred will share with us a unique take on our own equally unique Ohio River Valley dialect.
    Presented by: Fred Miller, retired newspaper journalist with The (East Liverpool) Review 
      
  • Wed., Feb.  11 at 6 pm
    Captured by the Mingo: A Historical Narrative
    In collaboration with Native American sources, Alan Fitzpatrick’s last book reveals through the use of historical narrative what happened to white captives taken by Native warriors during the battle for control of the Ohio Country in the latter half of the 18th century. More than 1,200 white captives were adopted and assimilated into the Mingo, Shawnee, Lenape (Delaware), and Wyandot tribes who never returned to the colonial frontier when given the opportunity to do so, but rather stayed and inter-married. Historians and psychologists to the present do not understand the unique transformation that caused Felix Renick of Virginia in 1798 to say, “It is easy to make an Indian out of a White man, but hard, if not impossible to reclaim that White man after being converted.”
    Presented by: Alan Fitzpatrick, author of local Native American history books 
      
  • Wed., Feb. 18 at 6 pm
    The Carroll Family of Bellaire: Growing up in the Gilded Age into the Progressive Era
    The Carroll family was one of the earliest and prominent family names when Bellaire was platted in 1855.  This family owned the first business building to be constructed on Belmont Street which still stands today.  The story of this family is told through the photograph collection maintained by family members through the years, and offers a glimpse of two sisters who grew to adulthood in Bellaire during the “Gilded Age” and the “Progressive Era”.  This story recounts some of the earliest photographic history of Bellaire.
    Presented by: Daniel L. Frizzi, Jr. 
       
  • Wed., Feb.  25 at 6 pm
    Belmont County Coal: A Case Study
    How has coal shaped the Belmont county’s economy, workforce, and community planning efforts over the years? An OSU extension office case study took a detailed look at just that. Gwynn Stewart will share with us local challenges and opportunities that emerged as energy production expanded in the region with a research‑based look at how Belmont County is navigating long‑term development, sustainability, and community well‑being.
    Presented by: Gwynn Stewart, M.S., OhioCED, Assistant Professor in Community Development, Ohio State University Extension 
      
  • Wed., Mar. 4 at 6 pm
    The West Virginia Penitentiary: Prison Life, Ghosts, and Tour Stories
    Former guard and later tour guide of the West Virginia Penitentiary, Charles Ghent, will present an open Q&A exploring the realities of prison life, the facility’s haunting legends, and its evolution into a modern historic site. Bring your curiosity—this interactive program invites attendees to ask questions and hear firsthand stories from someone who lived the history.
    Presented by: Charles Ghent, former employee of the West Virginia Penitentiary 
      
  • Wed., Mar. 11 at 6 pm
    Rediscovering Belmont County’s Colonel Charlesworth
    Colonel James F. Charlesworth, born in St. Clairsville, rose to prominence as a community leader and a decorated veteran of both the Mexican–American War and the Civil War. In addition to serving in multiple county roles and actively participating in several fraternal organizations, Charlesworth played a notable part in local defenses during Morgan’s Raid, when Confederate cavalry swept through the region in 1863. Recently, his long‑forgotten Civil War presentation sword—and the remarkable story of the man behind it—were rediscovered. Presented by: Curtis Kyer, local historian and captain at Cumberland Trail Fire District 
       
  • Wed., Mar. 18 at 6 pm
    Spies, Scoundrels, and Rogues: The Ohio Frontier
    We will take a fascinating look at the gritty, colorful side of Ohio’s past, delving into the true stories of frontier intrigue—where outlaws, secret agents, and larger‑than‑life personalities moved between danger and opportunity on the edge of a growing nation. Author Gary Williams will bring to life the daring characters who shaped Ohio’s early history through espionage, deception, and unexpected heroics.
    Presented by: Gary Williams, retired librarian and local history author
        
  • Wed., Mar. 25 at 6 pm
    The Story of Ohio’s Canals: An Engineering Endeavor that can Still be Traced in Ohio’s Landscape
    Beginning in 1825, Ohio began constructing its canal system that eventually included nearly a thousand miles of channel and towpaths laced with stone locks and culverts, aqueducts, feeder lakes and slack water ponds. These canals, negotiating Ohio’s diverse landscape as they traversed glacial moraines and the Allegheny Plateau, opened up Ohio to world commerce allowing the export of surplus grains and manufactured goods and the import of items made in New York, London and Paris. Learn how the ‘big ditch’ stitched the settlements of Ohio’s wilderness together and helped make it a player on the world’s stage.
    Presented by: Thomas O’Grady, Instructor of Observational Astronomy at Ohio University and Director Emeritus of the Southeast Ohio History Center

Upcoming ADULT programs