Historic Delaware Period Homes | Historic Odessa Foundation

Flowers in from of the barn at Historic Odessa

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Upcoming Events

EVENT: America 250 - SAR Presentation

May 30, 2026 | 11:00am to 1:00pm

Join us as we celebrate America’s Semiquincentennial by hosting the Delaware Society of Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), Jaquette Chapter at a free public event.

EVENT: America 250 - DAR Genealogy Workshop

June 6, 2026 | 11:00am to 1:00pm

Join us as we celebrate America’s Semiquincentennial by hosting the Cooch’s Bridge Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), at a free public event.

HOF Celebrates Juneteenth

June 19, 2026 | 1:00 to 2:00pm

Dating back to 1865, a full two and a half years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, it was June 19th when the Union Army landed in Galveston, Texas and spread the news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Tours of the National Park Service Network to Freedom exhibit: “Freedom Seekers: the Odessa Story” will be offered free of charge; reservations are required.

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News Spotlight

Exclusive Two-Year Membership!

We are pleased to introduce a special offer for new members only: a two-year Contributor Membership for $250, available from May 15 through August 15.

From the Museum Collection

Dry sink

Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of Mrs. Alfred C. Harrison

1800-1850

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 & discounted opportunities including a 10% discount on food & beverages every time you dine.

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

We look forward to seeing you on Main Street!

Debbie Buckson
Executive Director