South Bend

South Bend, city (1990 pop. 105,511), seat of St. Joseph co., N Ind., on the great south bend of the St. Joseph River, in a farming and mint-growing region; inc. as a city 1865. An industrial city, its products include transportation equipment; metal, plastic, electrical, electronic, wood, paper, and glass products; consumer goods; machinery; chemicals; foods; and building materials. There are also precious metal recycling, steel processing, custom embroidering, and meat processing industries. The Studebaker manufacturing corporation, founded there in 1852, was a major producer of automobiles in the 20th cent. until production ceased in 1963. LaSalle, the French explorer, camped in the area in 1679. South Bend was settled c.1820 as a post of the American Fur Company on the site of a French mission and trading post. The old St. Joseph County Courthouse (1855) houses a museum. South Bend is the seat of the Univ. of Notre Dame, with its famous football team, athletic facilities, art gallery, and huge library. St. Mary's College and a campus of Indiana Univ. are also in the city.

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South Bend

City (pop., 2000: 107,789), northern Indiana, U.S. It is situated on the St. Joseph River. A fur-trading post was established at the site in 1820. The city's highly industrialized economy has roots in the pioneering companies founded there in the 19th century, including Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Co. (later an auto plant) and Singer Co., a sewing machine manufacturer. The city serves as the trade and financial focus of southern Michigan as well as northern Indiana, a region known as Michiana. Nearby is the University of Notre Dame.