Historic Delaware Period Homes | Historic Odessa Foundation

Collins-Sharp House viewed from 2nd street

Explore Historic Odessa

Explore our Property | Grounds & Gardens | Museum Collection

Upcoming Events

(Mostly) Eighteenth-century Chairs: A Collections Workshop-SOLD OUT!

September 22, 2026 | 1:30 to 4:30pm

Chairs are fascinating. They display design, materials, and construction clearly. These many features signal times and places when the chair in question was made as well as subsequent changes and even its authenticity.

(Mostly) Eighteenth-century Chairs: A Collections Workshop

September 23, 2026 | 1:30 to 4:30pm

Dog Agility Event: Learn. Play. Connect.

October 3, 2026 | 10:00am to 12:00pm

Bring your experienced or inexperienced canine friend to an introductory dog agility event set up in the backyard of the National Historic Register Wilson Warner House where participants learn some of the basics on how to build basic obedience and awareness with their dog.

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News Spotlight

Raise a stein fo the 13th annual Odessa Brewfest

Blending craft beer, history and America's 250th anniversary

Historic Odessa Brewfest returns Sept. 12, 2026, bringing together more than 50 breweries, live music on two stages, historical demonstrations and thousands of visitors on the grounds of the Wilson-Warner House in Odessa, Delaware. As the nation marks its 250th anniversary, the event celebrates both contemporary craft brewing and the rich history of one of Delaware's best-preserved colonial towns.

From the Museum Collection

a pair of brass, ebony parallel rulers, a brass protractor, ruler

Drafting set

Historic Odessa Foundation

1806-1819

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