Since her launch in 1894 the Schooner Ernestina ex. Effie M. Morrissey has traveled the globe. From her humble beginnings as an Essex fishing vessel to her time as an arctic explorer and Cape Verdean packet, "...three centuries will have seen her".

Ernestina is designated by the Department of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark. Originally built at the James and Tarr Yard in Essex, Massachusetts and launched February 1, 1894 as the Effie M. Morrissey, she has sailed on through the centuries to become one of six remaining Essex-built schooners.

She reached within 600 miles of the North Pole and is the last ship to bring immigrants to this country under sail from the Cape Verde Islands. Ernestina was given to the people of the United States by the people of the Cape Verde Islands in 1982. Her history is a remarkable legacy that spans continents, races and generations.