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History · Odessa

Odessa’s post office opened in 1879, and 59% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Odessa Jail. Below: maps from 1953 on and the census since 1900.

1879first post office
1on the National Register
59%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Odessa began, and where its name came from

When was Odessa founded?

1879

The Odessa post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 204 in 19002020 census: 103147 years

How did Odessa get its name?

Odessa was named after Odesa, Ukraine.

Founding year: the first Odessa post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Odessa’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Odessa are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Odessa’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 316 in 1940; 103 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Odessa’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Odessa’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Odessa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Odessa.

Read it all →

Odessa was platted in 1879 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was named after Odesa, Ukraine.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Odessa, census by census

01002003001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 316

Peaked at 316 in 1940; 103 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Odessa’s Wikipedia page.

Timeline

Odessa, 1879 to 1953

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Odessa post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 316
  5. 1953On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Odessa, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Odessa, Minnesota road sign2016Odessa, Minnesota road signOdessa, Minnesota jail2016Odessa, Minnesota jailOdessa, Minnesota buildings-052016Odessa, Minnesota buildings-05Odessa, Minnesota buildings-042016Odessa, Minnesota buildings-04Odessa, Minnesota buildings-032016Odessa, Minnesota buildings-03Odessa, Minnesota buildings-022016Odessa, Minnesota buildings-02Odessa, Minnesota buildings-012016Odessa, Minnesota buildings-011959 Plymouth Savoy20151959 Plymouth Savoy
On the map

Odessa on the map, 1953 to 1985

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Odessa. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Odessa on the 1953 USGS mapOdessa on the 1971 USGS mapOdessa on the 1985 USGS map1953Ortonville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Odessa.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Odessa

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1986
Odessa Jail
Odessa Jail
Buildings
Odessa JailBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Odessa

Nobody well known was born in Odessa itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Jack MandersAmerican football player · b. 1909
M
Mary A. McClureAmerican politician in South Dakota · b. 1939
A
Alvin C. StrutzAmerican judge · b. 1903
Phil SaundersAmerican lawyer · b. 1920
E
Eddie KienholzAmerican football, basketball, and baseball coa… · b. 1889
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Odessa TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAgassiz TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Odessa’s history

What year was Odessa founded?

The Odessa post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Odessa?

One place: the Odessa Jail (listed 1986).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (8), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.