The Studebaker National Museum tells the story of brothers Henry and Clement Studebaker who started manufacturing wagons in 1852 in South Bend, Indiana.
During the Civil War, the company produced wagons for the Union Army as well as carriages. By 1875, the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company was the world’s largest producer of horse drawn equipment with sales of $1 million.
One of the earliest carriages made in the United States was for the 1824 tour of the Marquis de Lafayette, who was essential in America’s successful fight for freedom. The Marquis de Lafayette had a very close relationship with George Washington and named his son George Washington Lafayette. Clement Studebaker acquired Lafayette’s Barouche carriage in 1887. It was on display in St. Louis when the building caught on fire. A band of Apache Indians camping nearby saved the carriage. [insert photo of carriage]
The museum has a worthy collection of Presidential carriages including the four-passenger barouche in which Abraham Lincoln rode to the Ford Theater on the night he was assassinated. The Studebaker Corporation acquired the carriage in 1890 and placed it on display at Studebaker’s Chicago repository.
Studebaker was the first company west of the Allegheny Mountains to make a presidential carriage. In early 1889, President Benjamin Harrison’s son, Russell, ordered four Broughams for his father’s use around Washington, D. C. Studebaker Corporation bought the vehicle in 1918. [insert photo of carriage]
The company first produced an electric automobile in 1902. Of the twenty vehicles manufactured, Thomas Edison was one of the first purchasers. Between 1902 and 1912, the company manufactured 1,841 electric vehicles with a top speed of 21 mph. Production of electric vehicles stopped after the company acquired E-M-F Company. The company transferred production of the automobiles from Detroit to South Bend when it introduced the Light Six in 1920.
Studebaker entered a five-car factory team in the 1932 Indianapolis 500. The top finish for Studebaker was third with Cliff Bergere at the wheel. They returned to the Speedway for the 1933 Indianapolis 500 with a five-car factory team. The top finish for Studebaker was Tony Gulotta in 7th. They also provided the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 on four occasions. The 1929 pace car was a Studebaker President Roadster. After the race, the company produced thirty identical cars for sale to the public. None are known to have survived. In 1940, a Studebaker Champion Club Sedan was selected. It was one of the few times when a closed car was selected as the pace car. To celebrate Studebaker’s 100th birthday, a Studebaker Commander served as the pace car. The last appearance of a Studebaker pace car was in 1962 with an Avanti prototype. Since the car could not be built in time, the official pace car was a Studebaker Lark.
Like so many automobile manufacturers, the Great Depression was a difficult period and the company declared bankruptcy in March 1933. By reorganizing, the company survived the Great Depression. During World War II, they manufactured cargo trucks used to transport materials and personnel. They also had an exclusive contract to build all Curtiss-Wright Cyclone aircraft engines for B-17 bombers.
After World War II, the company introduced the Champion and Commander models in 1947. The Commander Starliner model, which debuted in 1953, was known for its styling. The company was proud of never having a UAW strike but it came at a cost. Its employees and retirees were the best paid in the industry. Cost cutting by Ford and GM took its toll and once again, the company verged on bankruptcy.
With a change in management, Studebaker survived and joined forces with Packard in 1954 but it wasn’t enough to reverse the company’s long, slow decline. In June 1962, the company introduced the Avanti, a luxury two-door coupe as competition to the Ford Thunderbird and Buick Riviera. It was introduced as “the fastest production car in the world.” A modified Avanti set a world’s record of 170.81 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats. [insert photo of car]. After Studebaker shuttered its operations, two South Bend residents purchased the plant space, tooling and Avanti name. In subsequent years, others would purchase the name. The final production of the Avanti was in 2006.
The company closed on March 17, 1966. It gave its vehicle collection and company archives to the City of South Bend. The Museum was established in 2005 and is part of a museum complex run by the City of South Bend. This is a good museum to visit.