Clement Studebaker, Jr - North American Light and Power Co - 1926 dated Autograph Stock Certificate

Studebaker, an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, was founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company. Initially, the company focused on coachbuilding, manufacturing wagons, buggies, carriages, and harnesses.

In 1902, Studebaker entered the automotive industry, introducing electric vehicles, followed by gasoline vehicles in 1904, all sold under the name “Studebaker Automobile Company.” Until 1911, its automotive division operated in partnership with the Garford Company of Elyria, Ohio, and later with the E-M-F Company and the Flanders Automobile Company from 1909 onwards.

In August 1912, Studebaker manufactured its first gasoline automobiles. Over the next five decades, the company established a reputation for quality, durability, and reliability.

However, an unsuccessful 1954 merger with Packard (the Studebaker-Packard Corporation) failed to address chronic postwar cash flow problems. Consequently, the ‘Studebaker Corporation’ name was restored in 1962. Nevertheless, the South Bend plant ceased automobile production on December 20, 1963, and the last Studebaker automobile rolled off the Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, assembly line on Saint Patrick’s Day, March 17, 1966.

After its demise, Studebaker continued as an independent manufacturer before merging with Wagner Electric in May 1967 and later with the Worthington Corporation in November 1967.

The North American Light and Power Company was a utility holding company formed in South Bend, Indiana and run since 1916 by its President, Clement Studebaker, Jr., of the family famous for the Studebaker automobiles. The utility company remained a major subsidiary of the North American Company, until that conglomerate's 1940s breakup by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Clement Studebaker, Jr. (1871–1932) was born the son of Clement Studebaker (1831–1901), the carriage and automobile manufacturer of South Bend, Indiana. In 1911, the company founded by the Studebaker brothers joined forces with Everitt-Metzker-Flanders Company of Detroit to form the Studebaker Corporation. In one of his several executive positions, Clement Studebaker, Jr. served as Vice President of the E-M-F Company. By 1916 Clement Studebaker, Jr. had formed the publicly traded North American Light and Power Company, and issued stock, with certificates printed by the American Banknote Company. Clement Studebaker, Jr. also served as President and Chairman of the Board of the Illinois Power and Light Company (and of its subsidiary, the Illinois Traction Company), the South Bend Watch Company, and as Treasurer of the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad.

North American Company had once been one of the original stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. North American Light and Power remained under the ownership of North American Company for the next decade after Clement's death, as a major subsidiary holding company of other lines. By 1940, North American Company had become a US$2.3 billion holding company heading up a pyramid of by then 80 companies. It controlled ten major direct subsidiaries in eight of which it owned at least 79%. North American Light and Power Company was by then one of the three major holding companies among the ten direct subsidiaries. North American Company was broken up by the SEC, following the United States Supreme Court decision of April 1, 1946.