Studebaker Museum, South Bend

The Studebaker Museum is only a block away from the Studebaker family mansion. The museum’s primary tour is the Studebaker Experience. The tour showcases the history of the family and their migration to South Bend, Centennial wagons, and many major Studebaker vehicles from over the years.

Unfortunately, the exhibit was lacking a well-thought-out floor plan. When you enter the exhibit there is no obvious place to start, and the layout does not follow a traditional chronological plan. We were forced to jump around trying to make sense of what we were seeing. Much of what is so impressive about what the Studebaker family was their ability to accomplish constant goals towards new advances and innovations in their technology.  But understanding those advances is difficult when you are consistently bouncing back in forth between horse drawn wagons and electric vehicles.

Granting that you are able to process all that is before you, the collection is quite special. Because wagons, carriages, and vehicles were not only the Studebaker’s profession, but also their passion, you will find many of the pieces in the collection today were not produced by Studebaker, but collected.  

In the back of the room there is a round of carriages, and they were probably one of our favorite parts of the exhibit. A few of our United States Presidents are represented by their form of transpiration while living in Washington. Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Benjamin Harrison are a few Presidents that are represented within the museum. The carriage that Lincoln road in is without a doubt the most famous item within the museum. The carriage is the precise carriage the President road to the Ford’s theatre where he was shot by John Wilkes Booth on April 15, 1865.  

The Studebaker Museum also houses a rotating collection. At the time of our visit there was an Italian sports car collection on display entitled “Viva Italia! The Italian Sports Car.” A number of Ferrari's, Maserati's, Fiats, and more.

The neighborhood the museum is in is right off of the South Bend historic district but also borders on a neighborhood area I would deem visually shabby. We encountered some construction detours on our way, so we advise checking to see if your route is actually passable. Usually calling triple-A can answer this question. We recommend pairing this visit with the Tippecanoe Place, which was discussed in our previous post. Museum entrance is $8 for adults and children under 5 are free.