The Studebaker national museum

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The Studebaker National Museum has its roots in the Studebaker Company's private collection, which originated in the 1860's. The Studebaker Corporation operated its own museum for many years. By 1920, their collection included Lafayette’s and President Lincoln’s carriages: the last farm wagon the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company made: the first automobile built in South Bend, Indiana; and a large collection of World War I military vehicles that were built by Studebaker for the Allies. The collection continued to grow, and at the end of automobile production in South Bend (December, 1963) and Hamilton, Ontario (March, 1966), the last cars off the assembly lines at both plants were put into the corporate museum. Since Studebaker was leaving automobile production and South Bend had been its home from the beginning, the corporation donated its collection to the City of South Bend in late 1966. Through the years, the Studebaker Brothers, and later the Studebaker Corporation collected vehicles of historic interest. Some were displayed on the first floor of the Administration Building (currently the headquarters of the South Bend Community School Corporation), with the remainder stored in various parts of the plant. The collection was given to the City of South Bend in 1966 and thereafter stored at the Waterworks Maintenance Shop on Washington Street. The City of South Bend began displaying the vehicles in temporary locations until 1977, when Discovery Hall Museum was opened in the new Century Center. The collection stayed there until the city leased the former Freeman-Spicer Studebaker dealership building at 525 South Main Street in 1983. The Museum operates as a non-profit entity, independent of the city. The Studebaker National Museum retains the corporate rights, records, artifacts and the vehicle and wagon collection of the former Studebaker Corporation. The Museum features over seventy unique vehicles, from presidential carriages to the record setting 1928 Commander Roadster. The museum's Archive Center houses an extensive collection of items from the Studebaker Corporate Archives and private donors. The records of the Studebaker Corporation were donated to the library at Syracuse University when Studebaker closed in 1966. When the University returned the records (about 40 tons of paper) to the City of South Bend, they were stored at the Drewry’s Complex. In 1982, when the city leased the Freeman-Spicer building, both the vehicle collection and the records were moved to this site. The Studebaker National Museum, Incorporated was created and now leases the building from the city. The artifacts and vehicles are displayed on the first floor. Due to the vast collection of items the Archives had to be moved to a new location south of town on Lafayette Boulevard. The Archives house the records of the Studebaker Corporation, as well as the records of other significant local enterprises. It contains photographs, negatives, prints, films, records, audiotapes, ledgers, notebooks and advertising materials of all types.