Historic Delaware Period Homes | Historic Odessa Foundation

Corbit-Sharp House Grounds in Historic Odessa

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Upcoming Events

2025 Demonstration: Festive Foods

Christmas Event

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

Top off your holiday tour at the Collins-Sharp House as our costumed hearth cooks prepare a mouthwatering feast over a roaring fire. Enjoy the sights and aromas typically enjoyed in the 18th century during the festive holiday season.

English Country Dance

December 14, 2025 | 5:00 to 7:30pm

Put on your comfortable dancing shoes and festive attire to experience a lively evening of English country dance hosted by the Historic Odessa Foundation in partnership with The Dover English Country Dancers. The 16th annual colonial dance will be held on Sunday, December 14 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m...

A Jane Austen Birthday Party

Christmas Event

December 16, 2025 | 6:00 to 7:30pm

Party like its 1775! Celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth by attending a special birthday party in her honor on her actual birthday Tuesday, December 16, at 6 pm which includes a tour of the exhibit A Jane Austen Christmas at 250 at the National Historic Register Wilson-Warner...

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News Spotlight

Join Us for the First Annual Twinklefest

Kick off the holiday season in magical, old-fashioned style at the first-ever Twinklefest — a fun-filled, family-friendly celebration set in the heart of Historic Odessa. Enjoy a full day of holiday cheer, interactive exhibits, live entertainment, crafts, and festive treats for guests of all ages.

From the Collection

“A South West View of the City of New York”

Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of H. Rodney Sharp

1768

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