the historic houses

We were in Odessa in December and stopped by the visitors bureau to see what was available. Even though it was a Monday and the Christmas home tour was not available one of the docents offered to give us a personal tour of the three homes on the tour. She was delightful and a wealth of knowledge regarding the 18th century homes. This stop in Odessa was one of the highlights of our visit to the area.

Visited today, best tour guide Ted, beautiful day and quaint lovely town. Lunched at Cantwells, really fun.

Lovely little historic town. You will enjoy the history and the architecture. I especially enjoy it at Christmas time. It is a nice break from the hustle and bustle. You will enjoy it! Do it!

We dragged our 17 year old son to the historic house tours at Odessa and there was enough real history and storytelling to keep his interest. Our tour guide was great. We included the Christmas Tree tour and were not disappointed at the way the local artist depicted this year's book selection: Madeline. Lunched in the dining room at Cantwell's tavern afterward.

Odessa is a quaint, beautiful town! Highly recommend a lunch or dinner at Cantwells Tavern. If you are able, do try to go to "Christmas in Odessa" the first Saturday of December each year. After 49 years, it really is a magnifect day to celebrate the start of the Christmas season. The Women's Club of Odessa does a remarkable job for this event. Private homes are open one time a year to the public for tours along with a craft fair, evergreens sale, choral program and beautiful bellringers concert. The Newark Fife and Drum Corp performs throughtout the town all day and evening. The day is filled with many wonderful events and displays. If you visit any other time of year, consider checking out a Historic House of Odessa Tour in which public buildings are open for tours certain days of the week. Small but very quaint town with so much character and beauty.

This community is an act of love. The homes are maintained with a painstaking eye to detail by a group of dedicated volunteers. So much history and so much hospitality. We fell in love with this little village and its perfectly preserved history and homes. Don't miss this hidden gem.

Excellent tour of 3 homes during the Federal style era. A good tour guide took us thru the homes in a relaxed manner. There is nothing else to do in Odessa except a meal in the restaurant but its worth the trip.

Little Delaware village of Odessa (just off Hwy. 1 enroute to beaches) boasts some wonderfully preserved homes from the 1700s, mostly right on/off Main Street and near Cantwell's Tavern, a restored, historic 'watering hole'... worth a detour!

Took the tour a few days before the annual xmas tour. However, the houses were decorated. My daughter and I were the only ones on the tour. Our guide was excellent, presented info with facts and local color. This tiny town tucked away in Delaward is a jewel, as is the Tavern where we had a gourmet lunch!!! I will come back again when it is warmer and walk the town which has many lovely houses!

My wife and I visited Odessa, DE for the first time last week and found the historic area to be charming and very interesting. We toured the Historic Houses of Odessa and were pleasantly surprised at the quality of restoration of the buildings and the detail of the tour information. We visited three restored houses with a docent, who was friendly and very knowledgeable. The two other Historic Houses of Odessa were the restored bank building that serves as the welcome center and Cantwells' Tavern that is a restored and operating restaurant. The tour was very worthwhile and interesting.

Current Tasha Tudor Christmas Tour exceeded my expectations. They have woven together the historic homes, museum pieces, children's books and Christmas story to create a magical fascinating room by room adventure that will entertain adults, children and yes, even men. The whole town of Odessa is part of the tour - you move from house to house and you can top it off with lunch at the newly opened tavern in the Brick Hotel, which sits on the corner - "Cantwell's Tavern"