Delmarva Back Roads

Rear and side of Old Drawyers Presbyterian Church north of Odessa Odessa is probably best-known for the historic buildings owned by the Historic Odessa Foundation and called the “Historic Houses of Odessa.” I’ve talked about them in a separate blog post . But there are many other historic treasures in this National Historic District and its outskirts.   Odessa was originally named Cantwell’s Bridge after Richard Cantwell, who began operating a toll bridge over the Appoquinimink River in 1731. Today's bridge over the Appoquinimink River--site of Cantwell's toll bridge Like many other towns along the Delaware Bayshore Byway, Odessa was a shipping port. In fact, in 1855 its name was changed from Cantwell's Bridge to Odessa in hopes of becoming another great port like the Russian seaport.   Adding to Odessa’s importance was a “Kings Road” that ran through Odessa from the Chesapeake Bay to the Delaware Bay. Odessa's Main Street--part of this King's Road--was th...

  In many ways Big Stone Beach is like other beach hamlets along the Delaware Bay. There’s a row of houses facing the water, with a road behind them running parallel to the shoreline. The beach is great for beachcombing—there’s supposed to be sea glass along the shore. But the beach gets mucky in the water, so it isn’t great for swimming or walking barefoot.  But two things here are different. The first is a large tower. Observation tower at Big Stone Beach This was an observation tower used during World Wars I and II to watch for enemy ships. It’s the last of five such towers in Delaware. It was used to reinforce  Fort Saulsby , which was built near Slaughter Beach  for World War I and decommissioned after World War II.  There was indeed once a big stone out in the water, but it was destroyed during World War II. I’ve read two stories about why it was destroyed: either as target practice or out of fear that it would obscure sight of an enemy ship. Histor...