The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The Odessa area was first settled in the middle 1800s by the W.M. Mobley Family who migrated from Savannah, Georgia. Odessa was named in the 1880s by Peter Demens, a Russian immigrant who developed the community through the Orange Belt Railway. Later, the railroad came through, running parallel with S.R. 54. Demens also founded St. Petersburg, Florida and named both communities after places he used to go to in Russia.
There was once a large sawmill in the area providing employment. This sawmill replaced some smaller ones and was burned in a fire in 1922.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Start Odessa’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Odessa’s history is told.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Odessa
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Odessa, decade by decade
2000
CommonsFlorida orange grove2013
CommonsOld FL SR 54 at Trinity Boulevard2012
CommonsAerial view of The Eagles golf community2009
CommonsAerial view of Tampa Bay Executive Airport2009
CommonsAerial view of Tampa Bay Executive Airport, Odessa, Florida…2009
CommonsAerial view of S.R. 54 and Tampa Bay Executive Airport2009Nothing in Odessa is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Odessa has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Lutz Elementary School, Old in Lutz, 5.9 miles away.
Odessa and the nearest listed places
How a place gets listed
Then & now
When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.
Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.