Go back in time to explore the South Bend Toy Company at the Studebaker National Museum
Photo by Michael Clubb
Dec. 20, 2024
SOUTH BEND — For a pop-up exhibit during the holiday season, Studebaker National Museum decided to spotlight a company with historic ties to Studebaker: the South Bend Toy Company.
"Industry Spotlight: South Bend Toy Company" includes archival items of catalogues, advertisements and toys from the museum's collection through Feb. 21.
“A part of this is showing off things in our collection that we don’t get out very often,” Museum Curator Kyle Sater says.
The South Bend Toy Company began in 1874 with a grocery clerk, Frederick H. Badet, and a woodworker, John W. Teel, who made and sold croquet balls, sticks and mallets by hand, the museum says. Because croquet was one of the few activities women could indulge in, their business thrived, the exhibit's information cards say. The Studebaker National Museum has eight to 10 croquet sets in its collection, Sater says.
Officially named the South Bend Toy Manufacturing Company in 1888, the business started creating wagons, modeled after Studebaker wagons — known as the Studebaker Junior “Goat” Wagon — doll carriages and wheel barrows, among others.
“These were all well-made hand-made pieces,” Sater says.
Studebaker goat wagon cart
The goat wagon was designed to look like Studebaker’s farm wagon, the museum says. The toy was first manufactured at the Studebaker factory and sold by retail dealerships. Upon its blooming popularity, the South Bend Toy Company took over production.
Evolution of kids toys
Much of the South Bend Toy Company’s style of toy still exists in modern toys today. The construction, design and feel might differ, but toys such as wagons, doll houses, high chairs and even a set of racquets on display are still used by kids today.
“Kids are kids,” Sater says. “The toys that we make today are, obviously, reflective of our culture and what’s happening, but some of the same stuff is still popular.”
He says toys are a way for kids to step into their parent’s shoes through play.
“With the Studebaker Goat Cart, they might see their dad or grandfather working on a farm with a full-size wagon,” he says.
Transition after World War II
The toy industry changed after World War II. During the war, toy production facilities were converted to produce war products such as packaging for military vehicles and aircraft parts, the museum says. The Studebaker Corp. and Bendix Aviation Corp. were part of these production efforts. The toy company stopped producing the goat wagon after World War II, the museum says.
After the war, plastic rose in popularity due to being cheap and easy to mass produce, the museum says.
"In the 1930s, and especially in the 40s, plastics gained popularity in manufacturing due to scientific advancements and the lack of 'traditional' toy materials like silk and natural rubber that were in short supply during WW2," Sater says by email.
After the war, during a transition period, many companies, including South Bend Toy, "retooled for peacetime" and began using more inexpensive and colorful plastics, he says.
Featured in the exhibit, the Studebaker National Museum displays toys ranging from 1960 to 1981, showing the shift in materials used to create each toy:
◼ 1960: Croquet sets consisted of painted wood mallets, balls, stands with rubber on select mallets and wheels, and metal on wickets and select stands. Sater says he believes South Bend Toy started constructing croquet sets early in the company's history, in the 1870s or ❜80s. The earliest croquet set in the museum's collection is from the 1930s, Sater says.
◼ 1960: Doll stroller kits were made with metal and plastic. The stroller fabric is made of vinyl. The 1950s and ❜60s were the "golden age" for plastic toys, Sater says. "By the mid-❜60s, plastic was often the 'go-to' material and was used prominently in games like Rock ❜Em Sock ❜Em Robots, Operation, Mouse Trap and even Mr. Potato Head," he says.
◼ 1975: The Jarrow Styrofoam toy arrow is made with foam and rubber plastic.
◼ 1977: Lawnplay rocket racquets are made with plastic.
◼ 1981: The Ladybug toddler bike is made of plastic.
The closing of South Bend Toy Factory
Playskool owner Milton Bradley purchased South Bend Toy in 1968.
In the summer of 1973, the South Bend Toy Factory moved into 3300 W. Sample St., The History Museum says on its website. The former toy factory building, also a former Bendix Home Appliance Plant, was most recently the location of the South Bend Chocolate Factory before factory operations were moved to 7102 Lincoln Way W. as part of owner Mark Tarner's Indiana Dinosaur Museum development.
During its peak in the 1970s, the toy factory employed up to 430 people spanning multiple generations, the museum says.
By the 1980s, Milton Bradley decided to close the South Bend Toy Factory due to cheaper toys being made overseas.
“Toys got so cheap to make overseas,” Sater says. “It didn’t make sense to really keep a factory here.”
The South Bend Toy Company closed in 1981.
On exhibit
■ What: Industry Spotlight: South Bend Toy Company
■ Where: Studebaker National Museum, 201 S. Chapin St., South Bend
■ When: through Feb. 21
■ Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays
■ Cost: $11-$7; free for members and ages 5 and younger
■ For more information: Call 574-235-9714 or visit studebakermuseum.org.