Studebaker is one of the most recognizable last names in South Bend history. On today’s city landscape, Studebaker Street, which runs north-south from LaPorte Avenue to Napier Street, and Studebaker Park, at 718 E. Calvert St., retain the name of the famed wagon and automobile manufacturer. South Bend’s one-time Studebaker School also was named for the family.
The Studebakers first immigrated to the United States from Germany in the early 1700s. Early on the family established itself in Pennsylvania as wagon makers, a profession that would lead to fame and fortune.
Five boys and five girls were born to John and Rebecca Studebaker. The eldest brothers, Clement and Henry, opened a blacksmith shop in South Bend in 1852, and younger brother J.M. later joined them. In 1858 he bought out Henry’s interest.
Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Co. was formed in 1868 by Clement (president), Peter (secretary) and J.M. (treasurer), and in 1875 the youngest brother, Jacob, joined the business. The company secured government contracts during the Civil War and, later, during World War I, World War II and the Korean War.
As the times changed, so did the company: In the early 1900s it transitioned from producing horse-drawn wagons to electric- and gas-powered automobiles. The company had many successful years before its fortunes began to change.
It reorganized during the Great Depression and returned to profitability, but rises and falls in subsequent years ultimately resulted, in December 1963, in the closing of the South Bend plant. In March 1966 the last Studebaker rolled off the line at its Hamilton, Ontario, plant acquired 15 years earlier.
The five Studebaker brothers passed away between 1887 and 1917, leaving the company’s management to the next generation. Henry (1826-1895) is buried in Bowman Cemetery, while Clement (1831-1901) and J.M. (1833-1917) are in Riverview Cemetery, and Peter (1836-1897) and Jacob (1844-1887) rest in City Cemetery.
This is a continuing series, from The History Museum, on people whose names dot South Bend’s landscape.
