a view of chautauqua avenue
Prosperous years following the end of the war saw an expansion of the residential areas. The original Waldmere Tract west of the village center, on both sides of Summit Avenue was subdivided for housing. Adjoining the Waldmere development to the west, the large Stoneman farm property was similarly laid out in streets and lots. The housing boom resulted in a dramatic increase in the village population. In 1920 the population was reported at 700. The 1930 census showed a total of 1800 residents – over two times greater.
In 1924 local citizens approved plans for a new school at a cost of $6000. It was built on Lakeview and East Summit Avenues and first occupied in September 1924 as the Lakewood High School. An increasing population forced the building of two additions during the next decade.
With the paving of the streets in 1927 and the establishment of a wide variety of stores offering supplies and services, the face of the village came to resemble its present appearance. Along the lakeshore the rambling building which had housed the Lakewood Country Club became a public restaurant in 1919 and was known as the Lakewood Inn. Throughout much of the 1920s decade, it was a popular social center which attracted widespread patronage to Lakewood.
Lake-associated recreational activities were increased and diversified during the 1930s. When the Lakewood Country Club’s boathouse burned in 1918, the Chadakoin Boat Club built a new boathouse farther to the east, on the site of the old Kent House dock. In the later 1930s the rowing club officially became the Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club. It became a center for sailing activities in the lower lake. Throughout the summer months a fleet consisting of several standard classes of boats participated in an active racing schedule. As part of regional and national sailing associations, the club frequently sponsored colorful and prestigious regattas. National sailing championships were brought to the home club by skillful local sailors. The Yacht Club’s Youth summer programs offering swimming and sailing instruction to all age levels provided a young and vigorous aspect to the face of the village.
Access to the lake for the general public was made possible when the village of Lakewood purchased the former Lakewood Country Club property in 1933. A Municipal Beach was established with facilities for swimming, boating and picnicking.
By Lakewood’s half-century mark in 1943, the small settlement that was built entirely upon its relationship to Chautauqua Lake had become an attractive suburb, one of the most elegant addresses around the lake.
The physical appearance of the village changed little during its second 50 years. The center of the village had a well-developed commercial section. There were several grocery stores, a drug store, a liquor store and hardware and building supply centers. Many services were available in the village: beauty shops, barber shop, a news stand and Western Union headquarters, numerous gas stations, an auto repair garage and a general Fixit Shop which specialized in radio repair. These were located in buildings on Chautauqua Avenue, and the short streets nearby as well as along Fairmount Avenue, which in the 1940s was still largely residential.
New developments came in terms of expanded and improved municipal services and in the establishment of distinctively local associations and organizations.
In the 1950s both Baptist and Lutheran congregations were organized in the village. The Catholic Church had existed since 1913, worshiping in a large church on Ohio Avenue. The Methodists formed their congregation from the non-denominational group which had been the earliest religious body in the village. Every one of the four denominations built new churches within the village in the decade of the 1960s.
Lodges, veterans organizations, service clubs, and a variety of other organizations provided community gathering places that came to characterize the personality of the village. Among these were the private clubs – The Rod and Gun Club; cultural-educational clubs – The Lakewood Women’s Club; recreational-social clubs – The Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club; and service clubs such as the Kiwanis. The last hotel remaining from the early days, the Victoria, continued to serve as a popular local gathering and drinking spot patronized by a steady clientele. It was abandoned a few years before the villages centennial celebration. The Green Farm Tea room, serving an entirely different type of village and area patron, was located in the fine home built by Paul Arthur Sorg in 1905. The tea room operation was closed out after the Second World War, and the Green Farm became a high quality, elegant gift shop.
Fire protection was increased as the village expanded. Two separate fire-fighting bodies of early days, the Hose Company and the Chemical Company united to form the Lakewood Volunteer Fire Department, one of the strongest volunteer departments in the entire area. The relatively small Lakewood Police Force combined with the Busti Town Police in the 1980s to provide more complete and efficient citizen protection.
The postwar population boom created a need for larger school facilities and a state mandate forced the combining of small districts in the late 1940s. The Southwestern Central School District was a consolidation of schools in Lakewood, Celoron and the Town and hamlet of Busti. A large high school located on Hunt Road was opened in 1954 and the Lakewood High School building housed elementary students through grade six. In 1967 the Middle School was completed on the same site as the High School. During a reorganization process in the mid-1980s all of the youngest students, through grade two were placed in the Celoron Elementary School while those in Grades three, four, and five, attended the Lakewood School.
Further educational and cultural opportunities for all ages were incorporated in the establishment of the Lakewood Library Association. The attractive building housing the library was built in 1970. Along with its basic function as a well-stocked reference and lending library, the building is a user-friendly center for art exhibitions, and community events and announcements.
The recreational needs of the entire population were addressed during the same postwar decades. In cooperation with the Town of Busti, the village established the Joint Recreation Program. This led to the development of an activities center on Summit Street, in the heart of the village, the creation of parks at Beechwood at the east end, and Lowe Park at the west. LaGrega Field and Packard Field (another gift from the Packard family) hosted both school and summer baseball programs. Tennis Courts at the village beach, off Linwood Avenue near LaGrega Field, and at the Lakewood Legion on Chautauqua Avenue, spoke to the increased interest in that sport during the 1970s and 1980s. An indoor sports facility with tennis and handball courts and exercise prorams was built on Fairmount Avenue in the mid-1970s. After operating for several years in uncertain financial conditions, the center became a branch of the Jamestown Y.M.C.A. in the early 1990s. Lakewood youth benefited by the wintertime programs available to them, and wider usage provided a more stable financial base for the entire operation.
The population of Lakewood has been interestingly diversified over the past decades. Families whose roots stretch back to early settlers of the village have been joined by many newcomers to the area. Among those are young families who have been attracted by the educational facilities, the recreational activities and the spacious older houses. Many of the fine old residences have been attractively renovated and are occupied with pride by a new generation. Retirees and summer visitors have added to the population in recent years also. An increased involvement in civic and educational matters and, a concern for municipal efficiency indicates the high degree of pride felt by all of the village citizens, old and new.
As Lakewood heads into its second century, it is again facing changes. It has become part of a large commercial area as many of the stores and services have moved to take advantage of the heavier traffic on Fairmount Avenue. The day of the self-sufficient and compact village center which characterized Lakewood at its 50th birthday has passed. Although the technologies of travel and communication will dictate many factors, the natural benefits and beauties of Lakewood remain the same as the day of its founding. The energies and innovative thinking of citizens and officials are already taking the lead in pointing to a strong and appealing village as it begins its second century.
In 1924 local citizens approved plans for a new school at a cost of $6000. It was built on Lakeview and East Summit Avenues and first occupied in September 1924 as the Lakewood High School. An increasing population forced the building of two additions during the next decade.
With the paving of the streets in 1927 and the establishment of a wide variety of stores offering supplies and services, the face of the village came to resemble its present appearance. Along the lakeshore the rambling building which had housed the Lakewood Country Club became a public restaurant in 1919 and was known as the Lakewood Inn. Throughout much of the 1920s decade, it was a popular social center which attracted widespread patronage to Lakewood.
Lake-associated recreational activities were increased and diversified during the 1930s. When the Lakewood Country Club’s boathouse burned in 1918, the Chadakoin Boat Club built a new boathouse farther to the east, on the site of the old Kent House dock. In the later 1930s the rowing club officially became the Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club. It became a center for sailing activities in the lower lake. Throughout the summer months a fleet consisting of several standard classes of boats participated in an active racing schedule. As part of regional and national sailing associations, the club frequently sponsored colorful and prestigious regattas. National sailing championships were brought to the home club by skillful local sailors. The Yacht Club’s Youth summer programs offering swimming and sailing instruction to all age levels provided a young and vigorous aspect to the face of the village.
Access to the lake for the general public was made possible when the village of Lakewood purchased the former Lakewood Country Club property in 1933. A Municipal Beach was established with facilities for swimming, boating and picnicking.
By Lakewood’s half-century mark in 1943, the small settlement that was built entirely upon its relationship to Chautauqua Lake had become an attractive suburb, one of the most elegant addresses around the lake.
The physical appearance of the village changed little during its second 50 years. The center of the village had a well-developed commercial section. There were several grocery stores, a drug store, a liquor store and hardware and building supply centers. Many services were available in the village: beauty shops, barber shop, a news stand and Western Union headquarters, numerous gas stations, an auto repair garage and a general Fixit Shop which specialized in radio repair. These were located in buildings on Chautauqua Avenue, and the short streets nearby as well as along Fairmount Avenue, which in the 1940s was still largely residential.
New developments came in terms of expanded and improved municipal services and in the establishment of distinctively local associations and organizations.
In the 1950s both Baptist and Lutheran congregations were organized in the village. The Catholic Church had existed since 1913, worshiping in a large church on Ohio Avenue. The Methodists formed their congregation from the non-denominational group which had been the earliest religious body in the village. Every one of the four denominations built new churches within the village in the decade of the 1960s.
Lodges, veterans organizations, service clubs, and a variety of other organizations provided community gathering places that came to characterize the personality of the village. Among these were the private clubs – The Rod and Gun Club; cultural-educational clubs – The Lakewood Women’s Club; recreational-social clubs – The Chautauqua Lake Yacht Club; and service clubs such as the Kiwanis. The last hotel remaining from the early days, the Victoria, continued to serve as a popular local gathering and drinking spot patronized by a steady clientele. It was abandoned a few years before the villages centennial celebration. The Green Farm Tea room, serving an entirely different type of village and area patron, was located in the fine home built by Paul Arthur Sorg in 1905. The tea room operation was closed out after the Second World War, and the Green Farm became a high quality, elegant gift shop.
Fire protection was increased as the village expanded. Two separate fire-fighting bodies of early days, the Hose Company and the Chemical Company united to form the Lakewood Volunteer Fire Department, one of the strongest volunteer departments in the entire area. The relatively small Lakewood Police Force combined with the Busti Town Police in the 1980s to provide more complete and efficient citizen protection.
The postwar population boom created a need for larger school facilities and a state mandate forced the combining of small districts in the late 1940s. The Southwestern Central School District was a consolidation of schools in Lakewood, Celoron and the Town and hamlet of Busti. A large high school located on Hunt Road was opened in 1954 and the Lakewood High School building housed elementary students through grade six. In 1967 the Middle School was completed on the same site as the High School. During a reorganization process in the mid-1980s all of the youngest students, through grade two were placed in the Celoron Elementary School while those in Grades three, four, and five, attended the Lakewood School.
Further educational and cultural opportunities for all ages were incorporated in the establishment of the Lakewood Library Association. The attractive building housing the library was built in 1970. Along with its basic function as a well-stocked reference and lending library, the building is a user-friendly center for art exhibitions, and community events and announcements.
The recreational needs of the entire population were addressed during the same postwar decades. In cooperation with the Town of Busti, the village established the Joint Recreation Program. This led to the development of an activities center on Summit Street, in the heart of the village, the creation of parks at Beechwood at the east end, and Lowe Park at the west. LaGrega Field and Packard Field (another gift from the Packard family) hosted both school and summer baseball programs. Tennis Courts at the village beach, off Linwood Avenue near LaGrega Field, and at the Lakewood Legion on Chautauqua Avenue, spoke to the increased interest in that sport during the 1970s and 1980s. An indoor sports facility with tennis and handball courts and exercise prorams was built on Fairmount Avenue in the mid-1970s. After operating for several years in uncertain financial conditions, the center became a branch of the Jamestown Y.M.C.A. in the early 1990s. Lakewood youth benefited by the wintertime programs available to them, and wider usage provided a more stable financial base for the entire operation.
The population of Lakewood has been interestingly diversified over the past decades. Families whose roots stretch back to early settlers of the village have been joined by many newcomers to the area. Among those are young families who have been attracted by the educational facilities, the recreational activities and the spacious older houses. Many of the fine old residences have been attractively renovated and are occupied with pride by a new generation. Retirees and summer visitors have added to the population in recent years also. An increased involvement in civic and educational matters and, a concern for municipal efficiency indicates the high degree of pride felt by all of the village citizens, old and new.
As Lakewood heads into its second century, it is again facing changes. It has become part of a large commercial area as many of the stores and services have moved to take advantage of the heavier traffic on Fairmount Avenue. The day of the self-sufficient and compact village center which characterized Lakewood at its 50th birthday has passed. Although the technologies of travel and communication will dictate many factors, the natural benefits and beauties of Lakewood remain the same as the day of its founding. The energies and innovative thinking of citizens and officials are already taking the lead in pointing to a strong and appealing village as it begins its second century.
