Lakewood Station on Erie Railroad

Lakewood Station on Erie Railroad. . , Erie Railroad Station, Lakewood. Trains and Lakewood Development. , The Lakewood train station was a small frame building with sheds extending east and west. The mainline tracks of the Erie Railroad line, on the left, or south side of the station, carried comfortable coaches, Pullman and dining cars. The tracks of the Chautauqua Traction Company, built in 1904, are at the right of the station. The large interurban trolleys provided a local land route on the west side of the lake. With the coming of the railroad, and easy lake access, Lakwewood grew to include two large hotels, small boarding houses, and support services. Visitors whose destination was the Chautauqua Institution or elsewhere on the lake, came to Lakewood by train then boarded one of the seven large steamboats. At one time twelve passenger trains made regular stops at Lakewood. Records state that during one active holiday season ninety-seven trunks were unloaded from one train! The busy station employed a station agent, three operators, a baggage master, and a messenger. Other residents provided horse buses and wagons to carry luggage and travelers to the hotels or docks.