Lakewood Station on the Erie Railroad was a small frame building with sheds extending east and west. The mainline tracks on the south side carried comfortable coaches, Pullman and dining cars, while the Chautauqua Traction Company tracks, built in 1904, lay on the other side of the station and its 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, Lakewood grew to include two large hotels, small boarding houses, and support services. Visitors bound for the Chautauqua Institution or elsewhere on the lake came to Lakewood by train and then boarded one of seven large steamboats. At one time twelve passenger trains made regular stops there, and during one active holiday season ninety-seven trunks were unloaded from a single train. The busy station employed a station agent, three operators, a baggage master, and a messenger, while other residents provided horse buses and wagons to carry luggage and travelers to the hotels or docks.