The A.J. Meerwald and New Jersey’s Oyster Industry

New Jersey’s Roaring Twenties saw mob rumrunning operations, Nucky Johnson’s Boardwalk Empire, and a new craze for dining on local oysters. Whether it was fancy Oysters Rockefeller or simply on the half shell, the nationwide demand for New Jersey’s Delaware Bay oysters made boomtowns out of Port Norris and Bivalve. Built-in 1928, the A.J. Meerwald was a new type of schooner, specifically built for oystering the Delaware Bay oysters while under sail.

As the Depression arrived and wreaked havoc on the industry, the Meerwald led a very different existence, serving with the US Coast Guard during the war, and then clamming, until She was eventually discarded on a mud bank. Found and restored to glory, the ship now tours the state’s coasts as New Jersey’s official tall ship. Authors Rachel Dolhanczyk and Constance McCart chart the history of New Jersey oysters and the historic ship that carries on the industry’s traditions today.