She was built by W.B. Calderwood in Manchester, Massachusetts. Richard Valentine Morris took command of the ship. During World Ward I she successfully eluded German submarines by the cleverness of her Yankee skippers, and arrived a various European ports with cargoes of ammunition for the Allies. Adelaar na na na gaff rigged Ketch built in 1902 by Staadskanal Shipyards in Zaandam, Holland.
Adventure is the last example afloat of a knockabout style schooner in the United States.
The schooner, A.J. Meerwald, is owned and operated by the Delaware Bay Schooner Project, a Delaware Bay oyster schooner, a distinct vessel that evolved to meet the needs of the local oyster fishery. Launched in 1928, the A. J. Meerwald was one of hundreds of schooners built along South Jersey's Delaware Bayshore before the decline of the shipbuilding industry that coincided with the Great Depression. Campbell who outfitted her for surf clamming. She operated primarily as a clam dredge into the late 1970's. She was essentially retired until her donation to the Schooner Project in 1989.