History of Odessa and the Saloon

George Finney first settled on the site of Odessa in 1886. He mapped out the town of Odessa in the summer of 1899 after the Great Northern Railroad had built its line through the valley in 1892. That section of railroad was named Odessa by railroad surveyors after Odessa, Russia because of the Russian wheat farmers in the area. In 1898 the post office was established and the first store was opened by J.B. Ziegler and W.N. Schoonover. After the train depot was built in 1900 the town grew rapidly and by 1904 the town had grown from 30 to 800 people. Odessa was officially incorporated on September 25, 1902. That same year the building that was to eventually become the town pub was built and the tavern opened it's doors in 1907 under the name Dad Odell's. By the middle of the 19th century ownership of the pub changed hands and it was re-named the Pastime Tavern. It retained that name until 2007 -- 100 years after it's initial opening date -- when it was converted into a full bar and restaurant under the name of Rolling Thunder Saloon by the Lathrop brothers, Nate and James Lathrop.