Plan Your Visit

The grounds of the Historic Odessa Foundation encompass approximately 30 acres of property in the historic center of town.

The Visitor Center for the Historic Odessa is located on the main floor of The Odessa Bank c. 1855 and houses special exhibits, information center, and accessible restrooms. Visitors are ticketed and leave on guided tours from this location. The Visitors Center and Cantwell's Tavern are fully accessible. The Corbit-Sharp House, Collins-Sharp House and Wilson-Warner Houses are partially accessible.

Explore the past together, as a family! All children in the group will be given a cap and a haversack containing a spyglass, slate and slate pencil, fire starter kit, pocket watch, and a Bilbo catcher. In addition, activities include age-appropriate school lessons, a copy of “Rules for Behavior in Company,” and a Corbit-Sharp House scavenger hunt.

Guided group tours are offered Tuesday through Saturday: 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM, and Sunday 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM by prepaid reservation only.

Would you like to take your class back in time to the 18th century? Although designed specifically with Delaware teachers in mind, our programs are broad enough to accommodate schools from other states, home-schoolers, youth organizations and summer camps.

In the period between 1830 and 1860, the population of the State of Delaware struggled, internally, between powerful slave interests and defiant and very vocal anti-slavery groups. Slavery was not abolished in Delaware until the end of the Civil War, yet Delawareans voluntarily manumitted a greater percentage of their slaves than most other northerners. In addition, Delaware, and specifically the Middletown/Odessa area, had a large and dedicated population of Quaker and Methodists who were calling for an end to the institution of slavery.

The Cantwell's Bridge Hotel and Tavern was built by prominent businessman, William Polk, in 1822 and was operated as such for the next 100 years. The simple, clean, classic Federal lines denote a sophisticated style rather than that of a "country" inn typical of small towns. Merchants, ship captains, and visitors to the busy port town of Cantwell's Bridge would have found comfort in the accommodations offered at this fine establishment. During Colonial times, most towns on busy travel routes had several taverns, and Odessa was no exception, with five taverns in addition to the beautiful