(Introduction to the Studebaker Museum, from 1997)

The Studebaker

BY CAROLYNE WALLACE

The automotive industry has its roots in the heartland of America, where Detroit's Henry Ford and the Studebaker brothers of South Bend shaped Americas Industrial Age with the development and mass production of electric and gasoline-powered cars.
Studebaker has the distinction of being the only company whose vehicle production spans the years from the time of settlers wagons to the manufacture of high performance automobiles. The 114 years of Studebaker history is preserved and on exhibit at the Studebaker National Museum, located in downtown South Bend, Indiana, just fifteen minutes from Varsity Clubs of America.

The museum's historic collection includes over 70 vehicles, including the last Studebaker that rolled off the production line on December 20, 1963. Displays range from the Studebaker family's 1835 Conestoga wagon to a 1985 US Army Hummer. Carriages belonging to Presidents Lincoln, Grant, McKinley and Harrison are on display, as are the Studebaker Flander, Bendix, Erskine, Champion, Lark, Hawk and Avanti models. Early fire trucks, station wagons, ambulances and cars made by other automotive pioneers such as Packard and Mercedes-Benz are also featured.
The Studebaker Gift Shop offers Studebaker and automotive memorabilia and gift items. X90, a new hands-on science and technology museum, opened recently to entertain and educate visitors of all ages. During the Studebaker Driver's Club International Meet in June 1997, hundreds of SDC members participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the Museum's new 90,000-square-foot building, due to be completed in time for the Studebaker sesquicentennial in 2002. The Studebaker National Museum is open every day except Christmas and Thanksgiving and offers a 24-hour information hotline at (219) 235-9479.

These legendary motorized carriages once carried the turn-of-the-century elite and are now favorites of antique car collectors around the world.