Question: What is the name of Galveston’s traditionally rigged tall ship, one of only three such vessels still in operation today?
Answer: The Elissa. Built in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1877, the three-masted, square-rigged iron barque is one of the world’s oldest operational vessels. It sailed under the British flag until the 1930s, when it was transferred to Norway, Sweden, Finland, and then Greece. The Galveston Historical Foundation purchased the Elissa in 1975 for $40,000, restoring it as the centerpiece of the Texas Seaport Museum. The ship once made a port call in Galveston in 1883, trading a load of bananas for cotton.
