Victorian mansions

At one time South Bend was a thriving industrial town. The Studebaker brothers started a wagon company in 1852, that moved into making cars in 1902, and until the mid-1960's Studebaker cars were among the best produced in the USA. In 1853 James Oliver founded the Oliver Chilled Plow Works, and in the 1920's this became part of a conglomerate that was a significant force in the farm equipment industry.

The manufacturing plants all started to leave South Bend in the 1960's, creating an economic depression from which the town is only just beginning to recover. But the wealthy industrialists of the 1800's and 1900's have left their marks on the town with some fabulous and distinctive late Victorian mansions.

The Studebaker mansion, Tippecanoe Place (pictured above), is now a restaurant; its a great place to dine out for a special occasion, and does  a particularly good Sunday brunch buffet. It is furnished with pieces from the late 1800's, when the Studebaker family were at their peak.

The Oliver mansion, Copshaholm (pictured above), is now owned by the Northern Indiana Center for History, and guided tours are available. It is part of a complex of buildings owned by the Center for History that combine to give one a great idea of how South Bend developed through the 1800's and 1900's. (If you are a member of SJCPL, one of the local public libraries --- see this earlier post --- you can check out a free pass to the museum!)