Historic Delaware Period Homes | Historic Odessa Foundation

Explore Historic Odessa

Explore our Property | Grounds & Gardens | Museum Collection

Upcoming Events

EVENT: Spill the Tea

August 16, 2025 | 12:30 to 2:00pm

Participate in an exclusive tour of the My Cup of Tea: A Collection of Teapots exhibition at the National Historic Register Wilson-Warner House with the collector and the curator of the exhibit.

Save the Date: 12th Annual Odessa Brewfest

September 6, 2025 | 12:00pm

The annual Odessa Brewfest comes to historic Odessa on Saturday, September 6th, 2025. All attendees have access to food & merchandise vendors, live bands, sponsor tables, and more. Your ticket to the Odessa Brewfest gets you unlimited sampling of beer during the full duration of the festival.

Harvest Time

Saturdays at the Hearth

September 13, 2025 | 10:00am to 3:00pm

“Harvest Time” Explore the Collins-Sharp House and working kitchen garden with your guide as our costumed interpreters capture the sights and flavors of authentic 18th century cooking. Savor the aromas of dishes cooked over and open fire using the tools, recipes and techniques commonly found in...

View More Upcoming Events

News Spotlight

Steinholding Competiting - Odessa Brewfest 2024

Raise a Glass to History, Hops, and Hometown Fun

Held on the historic grounds of the foundation’s Wilson-Warner House (1769), Delaware’s first house museum, the Historic Odessa Brewfest is a signature fundraising event that blends the state’s rich colonial history with the vibrant culture of craft brewing. General admission, and VIP tickets available for the 12th annual Historic Odessa Brewfest on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025

From the Collection

Sugar bowl

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

1810-1830

Welcome to our colonial village!

This tranquil hamlet of tree-lined streets and National Register historic homes was once a thriving grain shipping port and vital Mid-Atlantic transportation and trade hub of the 18th and 19th centuries.

At its economic height, Odessa, or Cantwell’s Bridge as it was originally named, shipped out hundreds of thousands of bushels of wheat and other goods annually from the banks of the Appoquinimink River. Locally grown and made products found their way to Philadelphia, down to the southern colonies, and across the Atlantic to Europe. The town’s slow decline came with the advent of the railroad in 1855, and America’s expansion westward.

By the early 20th century, Odessa was a mere shadow of its former prosperity. That is until 1938, when prominent Delaware preservationist H. Rodney Sharp (1880-1968) purchased Odessa’s Corbit mansion — today’s Corbit-Sharp House (c. 1774), a National Historic Landmark and National Park Service Network to Freedom site — beginning a three-decade-long, full-scale colonial revival of old Odessa and its architectural gems.

Mr. Sharp gave his beloved Corbit house to Winterthur Museum In 1958 and they operated the Odessa properties until 2003 when they were permanently closed.

In 2005, The Historic Odessa Foundation was incorporated continuing Sharp’s ground-breaking work, preserving and interpreting the past through tours, exhibitions and living history programs for children and adults.

I encourage you to use our website to plan your visit. Stroll our tree-lined streets. Tour our beautifully restored 18th and 19 century houses. Wander through picturesque gardens. Dine at the historic Cantwell’s Tavern.

And I invite you to consider becoming a Member of the Historic Odessa Foundation. Your Membership will entitle you to a full year of free and discounted opportunities including a 10% discount on food and beverages every time you dine.

Help us ensure that our educational programming and preservation initiatives continue to thrive and endure.

We look forward to seeing you on Main Street!

Debbie Buckson
Executive Director