Odessa, DE Summary

Originally known as Cantwell’s Bridge, this crossroads town south of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal became an important grainshipping port in the early 1800s, with access to Delaware Bay. Grain from the region’s farms was shipped to the Delaware River, but when the railroad bypassed Odessa, and the American Midwest became the breadbasket of the world, its port days were numbered. Among the places of interest are the Historic Houses of Odessa, a cluster of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century houses. The Collins-Sharp House, dating from the early 1700s, is one of Delaware’s oldest houses. Located on busy Route 1, Odessa has about 300 residents.