South Bend’s rich and colorful history began in December 1679 when French explorer Robert Rene Cavalier Sieur de La Salle landed on the banks of the St. Joseph River, at what is now Riverview Cemetery. Two years later, on that same site, under the shade of a great oak tree, La Salle held a council with Indian leaders, which led to the Miami Treaties. Council Oak still stands in Highland Cemetery today. Almost 150 years later, in 1820, Pierre Navarre built a cabin on the North side of the Joseph river near what is now the Michigan St. Bridge. Three years later Alexis Coquillard founded a fur trade post a short distance from the site of La Salle’s landing and the settlement that came to be known as South Bend was founded. Over the next twenty y ears South Bend grew slowly until 1842, when the Very Rev. Edward Sorin, C.S.C. and six Catholic brothers established one of South Bend’s most famous institutions, the University of Notre Dame. Thirteen years later, the Mother House of Sisters of the Holy Cross and St. Mary’s college moved to their present location, just opposite the University of Notre Dame, from Bertrand, Michigan. In the second half of the 19th Century, South Bend’s growth was marked by rapid industrial expansion. Locally owned industry included the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the world’s largest produce of wagons; the Oliver Chilled Plow Works; the Birdsell Manufacturing Company; and the Bendix Corporations; as well as numerous smaller supporting industries. These corporations provided the foundation for South Bend’s growth over the next 100 years. Railroads were built connecting South Bend to Toledo and Chicago in 1851 and street car lines were developed in 1880. By 1890 an extensive commuter line had been established, and by 1920 South Bend had grown to be Indiana’s fourth largest city. The massive industrial growth that marked the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries slowed in the years following World War II. A number of the large industries that had helped build South Bend are no longer in the area. This decline, along with major suburban growth, have had an effect on South Bend. Economic growth based on smaller manufacturing firms and businesses and technical support companies in the 1990's has led South Bend to expand and develop new areas, such as the Blackthorn Corporate Park, while also redeveloping older sites such as the Studebaker Corridor. Today, South Bend is a growing city of more than 107,000 people living in 39 square miles. Residents and visitors can spend time in one of the city’s 70 parks and take advantage of local attractions such as the East Race, The College Football Hall of Fame, Potawatomi Zoo, Howard Park Skating Rink, Coveleski Regional Baseball Stadium, Century Center and the Morris Performing Arts Center, as well as the four publicly owned golf courses, including nationally recognized Blackthorn Golf Course. The University of Notre Dame, St. Mary’s College, and Indiana University, South Bend attracts students and professors from the United States and all over the world. South Bend today continues to build upon its past while looking ahead to the future.