Studebaker National Museum

The Studebaker National Museum is one of the best industrial history museums in the Midwest, and a genuinely surprising place even for visitors with no particular interest in cars. The Studebaker company was founded in South Bend in 1852 and grew to become one of America's great automobile manufacturers, closing its doors in 1963 after 111 years of operation. The museum tells that long story with flair.

The collection spans the full arc: horse-drawn carriages and Civil War wagons, early gasoline-powered vehicles, and the sleek mid-century designs that made Studebaker famous. Highlights include a string of presidential carriages — Abraham Lincoln rode in a Studebaker — and a 1955 President Speedster that still turns heads. The museum also has a thoughtful exhibit on the factory workers and the community impact of the 1963 closure. Allow two hours; the gift shop is worth a stop.

things to do museum
A story
The Studebaker company made more than cars: it started in 1852 as a blacksmith and wagon shop, building covered wagons for the Civil War and the westward migration. When automobiles arrived, the family pivoted — and the company that had carried settlers across the frontier ended up building some of the most stylish cars of the 1950s, including the bullet-nosed Champion that starred as the Muppet Movie's Studebaker.