574 Area Code 🌍☎️

South Bend is the fourth-most populous city in Indiana with 103,453 residents at the 2020 census, located along the St. Joseph River in St. Joseph County near Michigan's border and serving as the county seat of the broader Michiana region with a metropolitan population of 324,501. First settled by fur traders in the early 19th century - including Pierre Frieschutz Navarre of the American Fur Company in 1820 - the city was formally established in 1835 and incorporated in 1865, leveraging the St. Joseph River's strategic portage route that had been used since French explorer René-Robert Cavelier visited in 1679. The city's economy was historically driven by heavy industry, particularly the Studebaker Corporation and Oliver Chilled Plow Company, but declined significantly after the 1960s due to industrial collapse and suburban migration typical of Rust Belt cities. Today, South Bend's largest industries are healthcare, education, small business, and tourism, with major employers including manufacturer AM General and financial services company 1st Source, while the nearby University of Notre Dame significantly influences local economy and culture. Connected to Chicago 72 miles west by the South Shore Line commuter railway and served by South Bend International Airport, the city has undertaken recent revitalization efforts in previously blighted areas. Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, located 15 miles east of South Bend, with a population of 53,923 as of the 2020 census and serves as the most populous city in the Elkhart-Goshen metropolitan area. Founded in 1821 by Dr. Havilah Beardsley and officially platted in 1832, Elkhart was incorporated as a town in 1858 and as a city in 1875, drawing settlers primarily from New England before Irish and German immigrants arrived in the late 1880s. By the early 20th century, the city's economy was built on musical instrument factories, Miles Laboratories, and numerous mills, with the opening of the first recreational vehicle factory in 1934 establishing Elkhart as the "RV Capital of the World" by 1949. Rail infrastructure developed significantly after the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad Company built the first line through the city in 1851, with Amtrak service and multiple freight railroads operating there today. The city's industrial growth was powered by hydraulic infrastructure, including the 1867 Elkhart Hydraulic Company dam across the St. Joseph River, which was reconstructed by Indiana & Michigan Electric Company and operational by 1913. Goshen is the county seat of Elkhart County in northern Indiana near the Michigan border, located 10 miles southeast of Elkhart, 25 miles southeast of South Bend, and 120 miles east of Chicago, with a 2020 population of 34,517. The city was platted in 1831 by New England Yankee settlers who named it after the Biblical Land of Goshen, following westward migration enabled by the Erie Canal and the end of the Black Hawk War. Goshen is nationally known as a major recreational vehicle and accessories manufacturing center and is home to Goshen College, a Mennonite liberal arts institution. The city hosts the Elkhart County 4-H Fair, one of the largest county fairs in the United States. The area was historically inhabited by Miami, Peoria, and Potawatomi peoples until the 1833 Treaty of Chicago and subsequent Indian Removal Act forced their relocation westward in 1837, known as the Potawatomi Trail of Death.