Overbrook is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and former village in Sussex County,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

, United States.

Geography

Overbrook radiates from the intersection of

Delaware Route 1 Delaware Route 1 (DE 1) is the longest numbered state highway in the U.S. state of Delaware. The route runs from the Maryland state line in Fenwick Island, Delaware, Fenwick Island, Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex County, where the ...

and Cave Neck Road between

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

and Milton. in the Broadkill Hundred.

History

Nineteenth century

Burton's Chapel A.M.E Church was built on the "road to the oyster rocks of the Broadkill River" in 1870. Overbrook was a post village on the Queen Anne's Railroad, which was said to be famous for its excursions in the 1890s. Overbrook's post office opened September 10, 1899, with George L. Short serving as Overbrook's first (and only) postmaster. In April 1899, a train near Overbrook collided with a small herd of cattle, killing the animals. Overbrook's population was 25 in 1900.

Twentieth century

Overbrook was the site of a branch of the fraternal order of Junior Mechanics, an anti-Catholic organization. The Overbrook order was founded on April 9, 1901, and at it founding, the group had 29 members. Overbrook's post office closed on September 15, 1914, but the rail station continued to operate for another decade. The Queen Anne's Rail line was discontinued and the station closed in 1924. In 1921, Overbrook was the site of a selenosis epidemic in area cattle. The outbreak, at that time called "Blind Staggers", was noted in state newspapers. That same year, the '' Wilmington Journal'' noted the fire at the A.L. Hill general store in Overbrook. In the 1930s, Overbrook was noted for its ardent fox-hunters. These fox hunters were reportedly on foot or in vehicles, and in that era, the Overbrook fox hunts were particularly loud and long.

Twenty-first century

In 2016, Sussex County officials rejected a plan to rezone 114 acres of rural farmland in the Overbrook area; the development would have been called Overbrook Town Center. This decision was upheld by officials in 2021, after a public vote in 2018.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Sussex County, Delaware Unincorporated communities in Delaware