The Wendameen was launched in the spring of 1912, just down the coast from Rockland, Maine at the Adams Shipyard in East Boothbay. The first schooner designed by famed marine architect John Alden, she is now the oldest Alden designed vessel still in existence.
Riggers complete their work.
Built for Colonel Chester W. Bliss, owner of the Boston-Albany Railroad and the Chapin National Bank at Springfield, Massachusetts, she was moored in front of his summer mansion in eastern Connecticut. From there, the Colonel enjoyed daysailing with his guests, among them playwrite Eugene O'Neill and author Katherine Anne Porter. He also took her on frequent cruises Down East to Maine. In 1914, the Wendameen was chartered by the Wanamaker Flying Expedition, which involved a month-long cruise to Newfoundland. In 1916, the schooner was purchased by the Uihlein family, owners of the Schlitz Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.