South Bend is located in
St. Joseph County and it is the county seat. It lies north of
Indianapolis between
Elkhart and Waterford along highways 31, 23 and 20. South Bend also is on the banks of the St. Joseph River near the Michigan/Indiana border.
In 1823, Alexis Coquillard, a fur trader, founded South Bend. He called it Big St. Joseph Station. The renamed village was incorporated in 1835 and became a city in 1865.
The population estimate as of 2000 is 107,789. South Bend's top three employers are the University of Notre Dame, South Bend Community School Corporation and Memorial Health System. Residents experience four seasons. January's average temperature is 24.4 degrees and July's is 73.3. Yearly precipitation is 36.52 inches and the annual snowfall is 70.9 inches. South Bend is the home of Notre Dame University, St. Mary's College and Indiana University South Bend, among others.
The fourth largest city in the state, South Bend is part of the South Bend, Indiana metro area.
