South Bend, Indiana

South Bend, Indiana

St. Joseph County, Indiana

South Bend is a city that geography drafted and industry filled in. A river running south out of Michigan makes the southernmost bend of its course here and turns back north for Lake Michigan; a few miles west of that bend, across low, wet ground, the headwaters of another river begin the long fall…

102 sections
1,812 entry pages
1,373 dated events

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Next door

Notre Dame, Indiana

Notre Dame is its own community, just north of the city of South Bend in Clay and Portage Townships, with its own ZIP code, 46556. It is not inside the South Bend city limits. The history of the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's College, Holy Cross College, the Basilica and Notre Dame football now has its own home; the schools' life runs through South Bend, so the two histories link to each other.

Notre Dame history · University of Notre Dame · Saint Mary's College · Holy Cross College · The Basilica · Football · Campus Landmarks

Churches & Religion

The Faiths of the Bend

Religion at the bend is older than the town. Missionaries worked the St. Joseph valley a century and a half before South Bend was platted, and Father Stephen Badin's Potawatomi mission of 1830 stood…

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Colleges & Universities

The colleges and universities in the South Bend record. Each links to its place on the Schools & Colleges page.

Indiana University South BendPublic university · 1916 – presentIn Schools & Colleges · full entry
Ivy Tech South BendCommunity college · 1968 to the presentIn Schools & Colleges · full entry

The record, by topic

Origins

The land before the city, the St. Joseph River, and the city's whole story.

Government & Population

Who governed, who served, how many lived here, and the fights.

Business & Industry

Studebaker and the factory city: firms, founders, banks, inventions and fortunes.

Transportation

Rail and the South Shore Line, streetcars and buses, airfields, cars and the great roads.

People & Communities

The people of South Bend and the communities they built.

Black History

The community that built its own city inside this one.

Events

The days the city gathered and changed: the events calendar and the major events.

Military

Wars, the home front, veterans, armories and those who served.

Crime & Justice

Crime, robberies, murder cases and cold cases.

Schools, Churches & Civic Life

Churches, schools and colleges, hospitals, libraries, charities and lodges.

Landmarks & Neighborhoods

Landmarks, buildings, maps, parks and neighborhoods.

Arts, Media & Sports

The Blue Sox, players, music, stage, screen, press, books, fashion and honors.

Food & Nightlife

Where the city ate, drank, stayed, shopped and went out.

Nature & Trails

Wildlife, the zoo and the trail network.

Legends & Mysteries

Folklore, oddities, ghost stories, sightings and famous stories set beside the record.

Today & Sources

The city now, and the sources behind every page.

Every section, in reading order

South Bend in its county and state

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Cite this page

Using this page? Copy a credit line. Last updated November 12, 2026.

Source: South Bend, Indiana, Moosed History by Project Moosed, https://history.projectmoosed.com/usa/midwest/indiana/south-bend/

@misc{moosed-south-bend,
  title        = {{South Bend, Indiana}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://history.projectmoosed.com/usa/midwest/indiana/south-bend/}},
  organization = {Project Moosed},
  note         = {Moosed History. Last updated 2026-11-12. Accessed 2026-11-12},
  year         = {2026}
}