County of town: Lafayette County
Location of town: I-70, exit 38, (old US 40)
Location of city hall: 125 S. 2nd St., Odessa
Elevation: 932'
Population: 5,220 (2013)
"Odessa was platted, September 17, 1878 by Judge John Kirkpatrick, his wife, Sara, and a friend, Alexander R. Patterson. Incorporation occurred February 3, 1880. Odessa was first settled on the north side of what was then the Chicago and Alton railroad tracks. The town was named by T.B. Blackstone, C&A president, who, on a visit here, told people that the area surrounding the new town, reminded him of the wheat belt surrounding Odessa, Russia. Many of the early residents and buildings came from Mt. Hope three miles south." ~ Missouri Bicentennial Commission, 1976
Odessa, Ukraine
Location of city: Only port on the Black Sea
Population: 997,189 (2013)
"Odessa or Odesa (Ukrainian: ???´??, [o'd?s?]; Russian: ???´???; IPA: [?'d?es?]) is a city in Ukraine and a major seaport and transportation hub located on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. Odessa is also an administrative center of the Odessa Oblast and a multiethnic major cultural center. Odessa is the third biggest city in Ukraine and known in Ukraine as Black Sea Pearl or Southern Palmyra.
"The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement, was founded by Haci I Giray, the Khan of Crimea, in 1440 and originally named after him as "Hacibey". After a period of Lithuanian control, it passed into the domain of the Ottoman Sultan in 1529 and remained in Ottoman hands until the Ottoman Empire's defeat in the Russo-Turkish War of 1792.
"In 1794, the city of Odessa was founded by a decree of the Empress Catherine the Great. From 1819 to 1858, Odessa was a free port. During the Soviet period it was the most important port of trade in the Soviet Union and a Soviet naval base. On 1 January 2000, the Quarantine Pier at Odessa Commercial Sea Port was declared a free port and free economic zone for a period of 25 years.
"During the 19th century, it was the fourth largest city of Imperial Russia, after Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Warsaw. Its historical architecture has a style more Mediterranean than Russian, having been heavily influenced by French and Italian styles. Some buildings are built in a mixture of different styles, including Art Nouveau, Renaissance and Classicist.
"Odessa is a warm-water port. The city of Odessa hosts two important ports: Port of Odessa itself and Port Yuzhne (also an internationally important oil terminal), situated in the city's suburbs. Another important port, Illichivsk, is located in the same oblast, to the south-west of Odessa. Together they represent a major transport hub integrating with railways. Odessa's oil and chemical processing facilities are connected to Russia's and EU's respective networks by strategic pipelines." ~ Wikipedia