The community of Odessa was named in the 1880s by Peter A. Demens an immigrant from Russia. Demens was known in Russia as Pyotr Alexeyevitch Dementyev, he was born into a wealthy family in Tver Oblast of Russia but left the country after the assassination of Czar Alexander II in 1881. Upon coming to America he changed his name to Peter Demens. He then relocated to Florida from New York and was behind the financing of the Orange Belt Railway which ran from Sanford to Trilby to St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg was also named by Demens.
Odessa was once orginally located in Pasco County but today the town has extended itself to reach Hillsborough County, as well. With less than 5000 residents, Odessa has been successful in holding on the the Old Florida Community feeling, all the while embracing and rolling with the growth of this community. Odessa was once noted for its lakes, tropical fruit groves, vegetable farms and acres of avocado trees, but as times change, visiting the many array of ball fields, playgrounds club facilities and golf courses are a few of the things that Odessa offers today.
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