Leaving family and friends behind in Indiana, Charles and Lucy White, depicted here on their front porch, built this beautiful Victorian Home in 1887.

His store was on the South East corner of 3rd and N. Grant Street.

Charles started one of the first orchards in Odessa complete with a windmill and irrigation system. He also successfully grew sorghum, cotton and a bountiful vegetable patch. Mrs White was a Quaker remembered for her gentle and kind ways.

Quoting from Glenn Justice "Odessa, An Illustrated History".
While the promotional efforts of the townsite company achieved only limited success and the new town grew very slowly, a few newcomers did buy land.

One such early settler was Charles White, who came to Odessa in 1887 with his wife, Lucy, and two sons, Wilfred and Hubert. White brought his family to Odessa from Indiana for two reasons. First, Lucy's health was poor, and White hoped the dryer climate of Odessa might help her. Also, White had gone bankrupt in the grain business in Indiana and he wanted a new start in Texas. After arriving in Odessa, he purchased a section of land just south of the railroad tracks for $870.00 and in 1887 built a two-story, red-brick home at what is now 112 E. Murphy Street.

White began farming on his section, planting sorghum cane on part of the property. Near his home, White drilled a water well that irrigated an orchard of peach and pear trees. He also grew cotton. Charles and one of the sons, Wilfred, operated a general mercantile store at Third and Grant. Wilfred became Odessa's second postmaster in 1890 and the following year voters elected him county surveyor. Charles White died in 1905, but his house on East Murphy stands as the oldest existing structure in Odessa and Ector County.

Oso Pool bought the house, along with the peach and pear orchard, in 1923. During the oil boom of the late 1920s, and the resulting shortage of houses, Pool turned his home into an apartment house and lived in the basement.

Time: to Visit Tues. Hours: 12:00 AM - 3:00 PM Normal Hours: 10:00 AM - 03:00 PM

Days: to Visit Open Tue. Wed. Thurs. Fri. Sat. Closed Sun. Mon.

Courtesy, Permian Historical Society Collection.

Here is a photograph of the White - Pool Home as it appears today. It's a tribute to the craftsmen that constructed this historic edifice. Set a time and bring the family for a visit. Open for inspection 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM most days. Here is a photograph of the White - Pool Home as it appears today. It's a tribute to the craftsmen that constructed this historic edifice. Set a time and bring the family for a visit. Open for inspection 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM most days.
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Updated: July 9, 1998