The Collins-Sharp House is one of Delaware’s oldest structures. A coin dated 1730 found in the house has been taken to be its approximate “birth” date. It was originally built near Taylors Bridge, about 16 miles away, overlooking the Delaware River on several hundred acres of fertile farmland.
Linked to the old Collins family of Delaware, its rural location became a problem when an oil refinery was planned for the site. The building was moved to Odessa by Delaware preservationist H. Rodney Sharp in 1962.
Unlike the log homes built during that time, the Collins-Sharp House is a framed building with brick used to fill in the spaces between the frame members.
It features a gambrel roof, asymmetrical weatherboards, and large cooking hearth. The interior end-wall paneling, fire molding, and quaint window cupboards over the fireplace also identify it as a gentleman’s house.
Although the four-room Collins-Sharp House does not seem large, it was substantial for the early 1700s and appropriately called a plantation house in local parlance. Dwellings of this size would not become common until the next generation.
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