The Texas Seaport Museum is situated in the port of Galveston. It is run by the Galveston Historical Foundation and charts the maritime, commercial and immigration history of the port and historic harbor.
It's centerpiece is the Tall Ship 'The Elissa', built in Scotland in 1877, and now a National Historic Landmark. The iron-hulled 'barque' has three masts and nineteen sails. Her history of transporting cargo around the world spanned 90 years, and came to an end at the port of Piraeus in Greece. It was from here that she was brought back to Galveston, and fully restored thanks to the dedication of the Foundation and its many supporters. The ship's history and restoration are documented in a presentation at the Museum.
The Elissa is still a working ship that takes part in annual sea trials. The museum's educational program is based around the ship and includes the chance for children to stay on-board overnight and learn about life on deck, and the Youth Sail Training Program that offers junior crew training.
The Museum also presents a panoramic film of the The Great Storm of 1900 that destroyed the Galveston, and includes eyewitness accounts, historic photographs and audio-visual effects. There is a permanent 'Gold from the Gulf' exhibition about the local shrimp industry, displaying the 'Santa Maria, one of the only remaining mosquito boats in Galveston Bay. The Museum also holds a database of over 130,000 immigrants who landed at the port during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Museum is open daily from 10.00am - 5.00pm. Admission prices: Adults $8 and Children $6. Discounts for families and groups are available.
