2023-2024 Odessa City Guide Page 32 The city of Odessa, platted on September 17, 1878, by Judge John Kirkpatrick, Sara Kirkpatrick and Alexander R. Patterson, was built on the north side of the Chicago & Alton railroad tracks, 39 miles east of Kansas City. The city was incorporated on February 3, 1880. Residents of Odessa preferred naming the town Kirkpatrick, after Judge Kirkpatrick, the largest landowner in the community but Kirkpatrick, according to historical accounts, did not want the town named after him. T.B. Blackstone, president of Chicago & Alton Railroad, while visiting, told residents the land reminded him of the wheat belt in the great exporting community of Odessa, Ukraine. Originally a village of 100 people, Odessa approved fourth class city status during an 1884 election. In 1878, the first locomotive came through Odessa, followed by many new settlers. Families were moving to the area on a daily basis. Many of the early structures, originally built at Mt. Hope southeast of Odessa, were moved to Odessa. During the Civil War, the Bowlan Hotel, which was at the northeast corner of Second and Main streets, relocated at a cost of $500, was occupied by a group of federal soldiers in Co. 1, 1st Cavalry, Missouri State Militia, under the leadership of Captain Milton Burris. Another historical building, the original Presbyterian church, was razed in 2003 and the property in downtown Odessa is now the site of NASB. Other well-known structures in Odessa included the Myrtle Hotel, on the southeast corner of Second and Main streets, built in 1883, where William Jennings Bryan sometimes stayed. The Phoenix Opera House, built in the 1880s by Alexander Patterson, sat on the northwest corner of Second and Mason. The hotel burned in 1884 in the first big fire in Odessa and was rebuilt on an even grander scale. The Phoenix Opera House eventually burned on July 22, 1913. By June of 1879, communities on the north and south side of the railroad tracks were competing for the business district. The competition continued until the construction of a post office at the corner of Second and Mason streets. “The old public well,” in the middle of the street at Second and Mason, provided water, since a water system was not in place until September, 1922. A water plant, approved and built in 1922, and electricity made available in 1899, all contributed to Odessa’s continued growth. Another point of historical interest was the Ozark Short Line, a scenic route from Leon, Ia., to the Pea Ridge Battlefield in Arkansas. Traveled frequently in the 1920s and 1930s, travelers crossed the Missouri River at Lexington and followed markers through Wellington to Odessa. During that time, Lake Venita in Odessa was a spot not only for travelers, but locals, as well. The 23-acre lake contained 61,000,000 gallons of water, and was known in 1908 as Mulvill Park. The facility provided entertainment, boating, bathhouses, a sand beach, tourist cottages, dining and dancing. In 1997, the dam broke and the lake was drained. Lake Venita was restored with the assistance of a $144,000 grant from the Landmark Local Parks Program, through the Department of Natural Resources, and assistance from the city of Odessa. The restoration of the lake was commemorated at a dedication ceremony on July 4, 2004. Dam broke again July 18, 2009. The dam has been repaired and the lake bed has been filled with water. Odessa, according to the 2020 census, is the largest city in Lafayette County with 5600 residents. Odessa also boasts the largest population increase of any city in Lafayette County. In 1970, the official census recorded 2839 residents. The 1980 census figures reported 3088. In 1990, population had grown to 3685, in 2000, the population was 4818 and in 2010 the population was 5300. That percentage of growth surpassed all the cities in the county. Downtown Odessa looking south from the railroad tracks in the 1880s. The Chicago and Alton Railroad Depot is on the far right. A lumberyard is on the far left and the Myrtle Hotel is on the left side of the main street. CommunityHistory
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