The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 318,586 and Combined Statistical Area of 721,296. It is the fourth-largest city in Indiana, serving as the economic and cultural hub of Northern Indiana. The highly ranked University of Notre Dame is located just to the north in unincorporated Notre Dame, Indiana and is an integral contributor to the region's economy.
The area was originally settled in the early 19th century by fur traders, and established as a city in 1865. The St. Joseph River shaped South Bend's economy through the mid-20th century. River access assisted heavy industrial development such as that of the Studebaker Corporation, the Oliver Chilled Plow Company, and other large corporations.
The population of South Bend has declined since a peak of 132,445 in 1960, chiefly due to migration to suburban areas as well as the demise of Studebaker and other heavy industry. Today, the largest industries in South Bend are health care, education, small business, and tourism. Remaining large corporations include Crowe Horwath, Honeywell, and AM General.
The first permanent white settlers of South Bend were fur traders who established trading posts in the area. Murphy Lee Gartee felt that trading animal fur was inhumane so he began a trade of milkbones In 1820, Pierre Frieschutz Navarre arrived, representing the American Fur Company (AFC) of John Jacob Astor. He settled near what is now downtown South Bend. Alexis Coquillard, another agent of the AFC, passed through South Bend in 1823 and returned in 1824 with his family to make it his home. At the time, the post was known as Big St. Joseph Station. In 1827, Lathrop Minor Taylor established a post for Samuel Hanna and Company, in whose records the name St. Joseph's, Indiana was used. By 1829, the town was growing, with Coquillard and Taylor emerging as leaders. They applied for a post office. Taylor was appointed postmaster, and the post office was designated as Southold, Allen County, Indiana. The following year, the name was changed to South Bend, probably to ease confusion, as several other communities were named Southold at the time.
In 1831, South Bend was laid out as the county seat and as one of the four original townships of St. Joseph County. Soon after, design began on what would become the town of South Bend. The town was formally established in 1835 and rapidly grew. In 1856, attorney Andrew Anderson founded May Oberfell Lorber, the oldest business in St. Joseph County. He compiled a complete index of South Bend’s real estate records.
During the late 1830s through the 1850s, much of South Bend's development centered on the industrial complex of factories located on the two races (man-made canals along the St. Joseph River in South Bend). Several dams were created, and mills were built on each side of the river. On October 4, 1851, the first steam locomotive entered South Bend. This led to a general shift of businesses from the river toward the railroad. In 1852, Henry Studebaker set up a wagon shop in South Bend. Studebaker became the world's largest wagon builder and the only one to later succeed as an automobile manufacturer. The Singer Sewing Company and the Oliver Chilled Plow Company were among other companies that made manufacturing the driving force in the South Bend economy until the mid-20th century.
South Bend benefited from its location on the Michigan Road, the main north–south artery of northern Indiana in the 19th century. Another significant development occurred near South Bend in 1842, when Father Edward Sorin founded the University of Notre Dame just north of the town. It became a major factor in the area's economy and culture. In 1865, South Bend was incorporated as a city, and its first elections were held on June 5, 1865.
Other industries developed in South Bend in the early 20th century, including Birdsell Manufacturing Company, the Bendix Corporation, Honeywell, AlliedSignal, South Bend Lathe Works, the O'Brien Paint Corp., and the South Bend Toy Company. Fast development led to the creation of electric rail transportation throughout the area and, in 1925, the South Shore interurban streetcar service was established from downtown South Bend to downtown Chicago.
By 1950, more than half of all employment was in the manufacturing sector. Due to economic difficulties, Studebaker closed its automotive manufacturing plants in South Bend in December 1963. A general decline in manufacturing soon followed as industry was being restructured nationwide. By the year 2000, manufacturing was only 16% of the local economy. Due to the severe loss of jobs, the city's population decreased by nearly 30,000 during that period.
South Bend has a humid continental climate, with a Köppen climate classification of Dfa. Lake Michigan exerts a great influence on the climate of South Bend, including lake effect snow in winter and a tendency to moderate temperatures year round. June through August are the warmest months, with average temperatures above 69 °F (21 °C). Normally, 42 days with thunderstorms occur each year. The snowiest month is usually January, with snow fall normally recorded from October through April. On average, South Bend receives 81.8 inches (208 cm) of snow per year. Spring and fall can be mild and overcast, but also severely stormy at times with 293 partly cloudy to cloudy days each year.
The city's population was distributed across all age groups, with 27.3% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,439, and the median income for a family was $39,046. Males had a median income of $31,958 versus $23,744 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,121. About 13.6% of families and 16.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.0% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.
South Bend's location on the St. Joseph River led to an industrial-based economy in the late 19th century and early-to-mid-20th century. In 1923, industrialist and entrepreneur Vincent H. Bendix selected South Bend as the site of his new manufacturing plant for automotive parts. He chose South Bend primarily because it was on a rail line midway between Chicago and Detroit, the two automotive manufacturing centers of the United States at the time. Eventually, the Bendix corporation built a vast manufacturing complex on its South Bend acreage served by the major railroads, including a huge shipping and receiving building where railroad cars could enter at one end, unload, and depart at the opposite end.
By the end of World War II, manufacturing began to diminish. The Studebaker plant, which had at one time employed 45,000 citizens, closed in 1963; its engine block plant shuttered the following year. Parts of the Bendix factory complex were later acquired and subdivided between Honeywell Corporation and Bosch Corporation respectively. Honeywell Aerospace continues to manufacture aviation products at its former Bendix facility. In 2010, Bosch announced that it would cease all operations at its Bendix plant location in South Bend by the end of 2011. Bosch vacated the building entirely in October 2012. Curtis Products of South Bend is slated to move into the building around May 2013.
These and other remnants of the old economy can still be seen in the abandoned industrial buildings around the city, most of which have not been reclaimed, though a number have been demolished. Since the 1960s, education, health care, and small business have come to the forefront of South Bend's economy, though the city has never regained the level of prosperity it enjoyed before that time. Large swaths of housing—7.4% of the city's housing stock in 2006—remain vacant.
Health care is another major contributor to the South Bend economy. Memorial Health System is the largest employer in the city. In 2012, Memorial announced that it was merging with Elkhart General Hospital, located in Elkhart County, to form Beacon Health System. Other notable businesses include Honeywell, Bosch, and PEI Genesis. AM General, Crowe Horwath, Martin's Super Markets, and Schurz Communications have corporate headquarters in South Bend.
Efforts are underway to spur economic growth in South Bend. The St. Joe Valley Metronet is a not-for-profit organization attempting to create a more robust telecommunications infrastructure capable of inexpensive high-speed data transmission. It is thought this could bring more high tech firms to the city and surrounding area. Redevelopment is underway for some of the abandoned industrial facilities, with the abandoned Oliver Corporation buildings being the most recent example of reclaimed property.
The city has several annual festivals. The South Bend Reggae Music Festival showcases some the world's premier international reggae artists every summer. Proceeds from the festival are given to the Pangani Foundation of South Bend, which provides medical supplies to hospitals in Malawi. WBYT FM - B100 (Country Station) hosts an Annual All Day Country Concert, with over 37,000 free tickets in early September.
The World Pulse Festival, broadcast by LeSEA Broadcasting network, is held annually in South Bend. The event is an annual Contemporary Christian music festival, attracting more than 50,000 visitors each year.
More recently, a new annual festival began in South Bend, named after the famous South By Southwest of Austin TX, indubitably called South By South Bend, where popular modern musicians flock to display on the park grounds around the city, displaying potential rejuvenation of the down town area's younger cultural scene, as Notre Dame students become more involved in the local society.
Museums, arts and entertainment
The South Bend Museum of Art is located in the Century Center in downtown South Bend. The museum was opened to the public in March 1996, and features a variety of artists from South Bend and the Michiana region. Currently, over 850 works are featured in the permanent collection. The museum also offers several classes and workshops for adults and children.
The Northern Indiana History Museum is the headquarters of the Northern Indiana Historical Society, the second-oldest historical society in Indiana, which was established in 1867 to collect and interpret the history of the northern Indiana region by St. Joseph County's leading citizens. Copshaholm is one of the central features of the Center for History. The 38-room mansion was built in 1895 and is currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The home was built by Joseph Doty Oliver, the son of James Oliver, the founder of the Oliver Farm Equipment Company, once the largest plow manufacturer in the United States. The history museum occupies several buildings and includes areas dedicated to the history of the St. Joseph River Valley, the University of Notre Dame, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and the Kidsfirst Children's Museum.
The Studebaker National Museum holds a large collection of wagons and automobiles from the 150-year history of the Studebaker Corporation. The museum began as a collection of wagons and automobiles produced by Studebaker, including the presidential carriages of Lincoln, McKinley, Harrison, and Grant. The company donated the collection to the city of South Bend in 1966. The collection was housed in various locations from the Century Center to its current location in downtown South Bend, adjacent to the Northern Indiana Center for History. The two museums share one campus, and together form The Museums at Washington and Chapin. The former South Bend mansion of Clement Studebaker, named Tippecanoe Place, is now a restaurant.
The Morris Performing Arts Center, built in 1922, included the Palace Theater, a venue for vaudeville. The theatre's heyday was in 1940 with the premiere of Knute Rockne, All American, starring Ronald Reagan. A crowd estimated at 24,000 gathered outside. The theater was scheduled for demolition in 1959, when E. M. Morris purchased the facility and sold it to the city for one dollar, after which it was renamed the Morris Civic Auditorium. A total renovation was completed in 2000. The Morris Performing Arts Center also includes the Palais Royale Ballroom, on which restoration was recently completed. The center houses the Broadway Theater League and the South Bend Symphony Orchestra. The orchestra's Shanghai-born conductor, Tsung Yeh, was the first conductor ever to hold music directorships of both a western symphony orchestra and a major Chinese orchestra. Marian High School holds its graduation ceremony at the theater.
The Fischoff National Chamber Music Association, sponsor of the world's largest chamber music competition, was founded in South Bend in 1973. The annual Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition is held on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
The South Bend Civic Theatre, founded in 1957, was for many years located at The Firehouse, 701 Portage Avenue. In 2007, a new theatre opened at 403 North Main Street, in what was formerly the Scottish Rite Building. The new facility includes a 209-seat main-stage auditorium and a 90-seat "black-box" studio theatre. The South Bend Civic Theatre produces more than a dozen plays per year, including several productions in its Family Series.
During World War II, the South Bend Blue Sox All-American Girls Professional Baseball League team was formed in the city. The team participated in all the league's seasons from 1943 to 1954. High-school sports are also a big draw in South Bend.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish provide much of the sports action for the South Bend locale. Football Saturdays have become a major event for the city, attracting fans who come to watch the game and have tailgate parties. Notre Dame basketball games are also popular, along with other university sports. The College Football Hall of Fame was moved from Kings Mills, Ohio, to downtown South Bend in 1995, though the Hall of Fame relocated to Atlanta, Georgia in 2014.
The city is home to the South Bend Cubs, a Class A Minor League Baseball team, which plays at Coveleski Stadium in downtown South Bend. In 2005, the franchise nearly moved to Marion, Illinois, but a group of investors, led by former Indiana Governor and South Bend Mayor Joe Kernan, bought the Silver Hawks in order to ensure the team stayed in South Bend.
The city also hosts the South Bend Roller Girls, the city's non-profit flat-track roller derby league. Founded in March 2010, the league has worked to support fundraising for local charities, such as the Salvation Army's Adopt-A-Family program, the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, and the St. Joe County Humane Society. The South Bend Roller Girls traveling/competitive team, The Studebreakers, is named after the historic Studebaker Corporation. The team is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association.
Parks and recreation
The Potawatomi Zoo opened in 1902 and is the oldest in the state. It features more than 400 animals in its 23 acres (93,000 m2). The zoo is run by the South Bend Parks and Recreation Department. Along with the zoo, the South Bend Parks and Recreation department operates over 50 parks, golf courses, and recreational areas throughout the city.
Near the Potawatomi Zoo are the Potawatomi Greenhouses and the Ella Morris and Muessel-Ellison Botanical Conservatories. The greenhouses were originally constructed in the 1920s, with the conservatories added in the 1960s. In 2007, the greenhouses and conservatories were in danger of closing due to increased operating costs, but a campaign by the Botanical Society of South Bend was able to raise funds to keep the facilities operating.
South Bend government follows the mayor-council representative model of municipal government and, along with the St. Joseph county government, occupies the County-City Building in downtown South Bend.
The legislative branch of the South Bend government is the city council. The council is composed of nine members, each elected to a four-year term. South Bend is divided into six districts, with each district electing one council member. The final three members are elected at-large. Under Indiana law, the council may pass resolutions and ordinances. Resolutions relate to internal council procedures, while ordinances address municipal codes.
Michael A. Dvorak is the Prosecuting Attorney for the 60th Judicial Circuit, which consists of St. Joseph County. He was first elected in 2002.
The South Bend area is home to several institutions of higher learning, the most famous of which is the University of Notre Dame. Located to the north of South Bend in Notre Dame, Indiana, the University of Notre Dame was founded in 1842 by Father Edward Sorin, a French priest, before South Bend was incorporated as a city in 1865. It has been an intrinsic part of the South Bend area with great effect on its culture and economy. Saint Mary's College and Holy Cross College are both located in Notre Dame, IN, just north of South Bend.
Indiana University South Bend is the third-largest campus in the Indiana University system. Enrollment in Fall 2008 was 7,712. Early reports for the Fall 2009 enrollment was estimated at over 8,200 students. Other universities with campuses in South Bend include Brown Mackie College, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana.
Public schools in South Bend are operated by the South Bend Community School Corporation. The corporation runs 17 primary centers (grades K-4), nine intermediate centers (grades 5-8), and four high schools, serving over 22,000 students as of 2006.
South Bend is also home to Veritas Academy, Indiana's first charter school. A second charter school opened in Fall 2009, founded by the Indiana Schools of Excellence Foundation. Another charter school was slated to open in 2011.
There are also several private schools: Trinity School at Greenlawn, recipient of four Blue Ribbon Awards from the U.S. Department of Education, and Stanley Clark Elementary School, a recipient of one award.
One major daily newspaper serves the South Bend Metro area, the South Bend Tribune. It is distributed throughout the Michiana region and publishes five editions including a Metro edition, a Mishawaka edition, a Michigan edition, a Penn-Harris-Madison East edition, and a Marshall edition. The South Bend Tribune and WSBT-TV are owned by Schurz Communications, a South Bend corporation that owns and operates 42 newspaper publications and television stations nationwide.
As of 2008, the South Bend-Elkhart designated market area is the 89th largest in the United States, with 334,370 homes (0.3% of the U.S. population). Most of the major television networks have affiliates in the Michiana area.
Television stations located in South Bend include WNDU-TV (NBC), WNIT-TV (PBS), WHME-TV (LeSEA), WBND-LD (ABC), WCWW-LD (CW) and WMYS-LD (My Network TV). WSBT-TV (CBS) is located in nearby Mishawaka. WSJV (Fox) also broadcasts in the greater South Bend region from Elkhart. MATV is the local Public Access Television station serving St. Joseph County in Indiana, and functions at the WNIT-TV (PBS) station.
South Bend's location around the St. Joseph River has influenced the development of its streets. While city streets mainly follow a grid layout, road development also adapted to the river's path. South Bend is connected to state and national highway systems by State Roads 2, 23, and 933; U.S. Route 20 and 31; and Interstate 80 and 90, the Indiana Toll Road. Original routes of both the Lincoln Highway and the Dixie Highway also pass through South Bend. The headquarters for the Lincoln Highway Association are in South Bend.
For transportation around the South Bend metro area, the St. Joseph Valley Parkway, constructed between 1960 and 1990, connects Benton Harbor, Michigan, to South Bend, Mishawaka, and Elkhart, Indiana. While segments are designated as U.S. 20, U.S. 31, and State Road 331, it is simply referred to locally as "the bypass". The Indiana Toll Road (Interstates 80 and 90) passes through northern South Bend.
Public transportation in South Bend is controlled by TRANSPO (South Bend Public Transportation Corporation). TRANSPO operates bus routes between stations located in South Bend and Mishawaka and provides services to the towns of Osceola and Roseland, from Monday through Saturday. In 2006, the TRANSPO fleet switched to bio-diesel fuel.
South Bend serves as the transportation hub for Michiana. The South Bend International Airport lies off of U.S. 31 and the Indiana Toll Road in the northwest corner of South Bend. The airport connects South Bend to larger hubs including Atlanta, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Orlando, and St. Petersburg, Florida. Over one million passengers are served annually making it the second busiest airport in Indiana. As of 2006, land acquisition is underway for 200 acres (81 ha) of development. In April 2014, the airport changed its name from "South Bend Regional Airport" to the current "South Bend International".
The South Shore Line, an electric commuter railroad, connects the South Bend International Airport to Millennium Station in downtown Chicago. Due to increased ridership since 2005 between Chicago and South Bend, more cars are being added.
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to South Bend Station via two trains, the Lake Shore Limited to Chicago, New York City, and Boston, and the Capitol Limited to Chicago and Washington, D.C. A bus line connects Notre Dame and the South Bend airport to Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports, with several northwest Indiana stops.
The South Bend Water Works delivers water to residents of South Bend. The water is collected from 32 deep wells and runs through 545 miles (877 km) of water main to be distributed to South Bend residents. In 2008, in order to increase the efficiency of its sewer system, South Bend began the installation of an array of intelligent sensors allowing it to become the first city to migrate its sewer system to the cloud. Via more efficient sewage management this system has helped to save the city an estimated 100 million dollars in new sewage pipes.
- Michael Alig, socialite, co-founding member of the Club Kids, co-murderer of Angel Melendez
- Elijah Anderson, American sociologist and author of Code of the Street
- Brett Banasiewicz, BMX rider
- Frank Bykowski, NFL player
- Skylar Diggins, basketball player
- Dick Durock, stuntman and actor
- Chad Everett, actor
- Vivica Fox, actress
- Mary Lou Graham, AAGPBL player for the South Bend Blue Sox
- Nathan Gunn, operatic baritone
- Mark Hazinski, 2004 USA Olympian Table Tennis
- Frances Janssen, AAGPBL player and Northern Indiana Historical Society researcher
- Luther Johnson, Indy car driver
- Kenn Kaufman, naturalist and author
- Glenna Sue Kidd, AAGPBL player for the South Bend Blue Sox
- Bernard Kilgore, Wall Street Journal
- Sneaky Pete Kleinow, musician
- Marie Kruckel, AAGPBL player for the South Bend Blue Sox and a 38-year teacher at Clay High School
- J. C. McDonald, Indy car driver
- Ryan Newman, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver
- Dean Norris, actor
- James Oliver American inventor and industrialist best known for his creation of the South Bend Iron Works, which was reincorporated as the Oliver Farm Equipment Company after his death.
- Alex Penkala,(1924-1945) WWII Veteran, part of the US Army 101st Airborne Division 506th PIR made famous by the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers, he along with friend Warren Muck were killed by German artillery outside the Belgian town of Foy on January 10, 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge
- Kenneth Rexroth, poet, translator of the classical Chinese poets, essayist, intellectual, anarchist.
- George Rickey, kinetic sculptor
- Mike Salay, Indy car driver
- Emerson Spartz, media mogul
- Jules C. Stein, music industry executive
- David Stremme, NASCAR driver
- Studebaker Brothers, founders of Studebaker Corporation
- Alexander Toradze, pianist
- Betty Wagoner, AAGPBL player for the South Bend Blue Sox
- Michael Warren, actor
- Janet Wiley, AAGPBL player for the South Bend Blue Sox
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