The City of South Bend turns 160 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Thursday marks 160 years since South Bend officially became a city.

"This is a milestone birthday, 160 years since we were incorporated and since our founding," said South Bend Mayor James Mueller.

If it weren't for the St. Joseph River, the City of South Bend may not be here today.

ABC57's Annie Kate met up with Stephanie McCune-Bell and Travis Childs from The History Museum in South Bend. They were both in pioneer costumes for the museum's "Cabin Days, where they taught young students about life back when the area was settled.

"More fur traders come into town, they start settling, they start building roads and paths and homes, and it doesn't take too long before South Bend has become a trading post village right along the southern bend of the St. Joe River," Childs said. "A lot of those first fur traders... are basically all credited with getting South Bend on a path towards being modern."

South Bend officially incorporated and became a city in 1865.

"We came from a very, very, very small village, and eventually grew into a worldwide concern that by the industrial age, we made everything here," Childs said.

Studebaker and all the other manufacturing in the area put South Bend on the map.

"We were a world-famed city. We had a lot going for us, we had a lot on the international stage," Mueller said.

However, South Bend suffered the way much of the Rust Belt has suffered.

"A lot of focus, unfortunately, has been on the times of decline," Mueller said. "So when I was growing up, it was the middle of the manufacturing leaving us, Studebaker closing, and that kind of weighed on our history."

"When Studebaker closes, and then you've got a really, seriously bad time around here, that's taken a long time to recover from," Childs said.

However, historic investment, new developments and revitalization have South Bend growing once again.

"Trying to get the industrial age back if we can with Amazon building, GM's building, that sort of thing," Childs said. "So, there's still a lot more history to come."

Thursday, city leaders signed and sealed proclamations commemorating the milestone birthday.

For McCune-Bell and Childs, it's crucial the community learns its past.

"Everything comes in a greater context," McCune-Bell said. "So, to understand point C, you must understand point A and B also."

"Study the past to try and not make the same mistakes twice," Childs said.

Looking to the future, South Bend will not be the same.

"It's hard to fathom how much change is coming, the transformational investments coming in," Mueller said. "Just in the next few years, but if you look out five, ten, fifteen years, we're going to see a completely different city."

The City is launching "SB160" with branded programming and events through the end of the year. For more information, click here

The History Museum is currently fundraising develop "The Navarre Homestead" on its campus, which would not only enhance "Cabin Days" but immerse visitors in pioneer life. To learn more or donate, click here.