SOUTH BEND

city, seat (1831) of St. Joseph county, northern Indiana, U.S. It lies along the St. Joseph River, adjacent to Mishawaka (east) and 86 miles (138 km) east-southeast of Chicago. Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, the French explorer, visited the locality in 1679, and under the old Council Oak Tree (still standing in Highland Cemetery) he parleyed in 1681 with the chiefs of the Miami and Illinois Indian confederation. In 1820 Pierre Freischtz Navarre, an agent of the American Fur Company, established a trading post at the site (his cabin has been restored). Three years later the post was bought by Alexis Coquillard and his father-in-law, Francis Comparet; Coquillard named the place Big St. Joseph and promoted European settlement. The community was subsequently renamed (1830) for the great bend in the St. Joseph River. Former (pioneer) industries of South Bend were the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company (1852, later auto plant), the Oliver Chilled Plow Works (1855), and the Singer Sewing Machine Company cabinet works (1868). Despite the closure of these companies in the 1950s and '60s, South Bend's economy remained highly industrialized. The central city has been dubbed Michiana because it also serves as the trade and financial focus of southern Michigan as well as northern Indiana. The University of Notre Dame (1842) is situated just outside South Bend. It has become a significant additional economic asset with its Fighting Irish gridiron-football team, Knute Rockne Stadium, Snite Gallery of Art, Hesburgh Memorial Library (one of the world's largest college libraries), Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, and Joyce Athletic and Convocation Center. South Bend is also the seat of St. Mary's College (1844), Indiana University at South Bend (1940), and Holy Cross Junior College (1966). Inc. town, 1835; city, 1865. Pop. (1990) city, 105,511; South BendMishawaka MSA, 247,052.