Historic Delaware Period Homes | Historic Odessa Foundation

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Upcoming Events

HOF Celebrates Harriet Tubman Day - By Reservation Only!

March 10, 2026 | 1:00 to 2:00pm

Celebrate Harriet Tubman Day by visiting our National Park Service Network to Freedom exhibit, “Freedom Seekers: the Odessa Story”. HOF celebrates the role of local underground railroad agents and the life of Harriet Tubman since her birth in Dorchester County, Maryland. “Freedom Seekers: the Odessa...

Smyrna and Kent County Furniture: A Collections Workshop

March 24, 2026 | 1:30 to 4:30pm

Reliable provenance and maker signatures help identify small groups of furniture made in Smyrna, Dover, and other locations in Kent County. These case pieces and tables (but no chairs) range in date from the mid-18th to the mid-19th centuries and help unravel some of the mysteries about Delaware...

Spring Homeschool Day 2026

April 8, 2026 | 9:00am to 1:00pm

Homeschool families are invited to take a step back in time to explore the 18th century in historic Odessa. Our site offers a unique and well-documented picture of early American life in our interactive, hands-on educational workshops. Unique events for homeschoolers This spring, we will feature our...

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News Spotlight

Corbit-Sharp House Virtual Tour

The remarkable Corbit-Sharp House in Odessa is considered the finest example of Georgian architecture in Delaware. In this Virtual Tour, explore the house and collection with Debbie Buckson, Executive Director of the Historic Odessa Foundation.

From the Collection

Pembroke or breakfast table

Historic Odessa Foundation

1810-1825

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