The two-masted schooner A.V. Knickerbocker, known otherwise as the A.E. Knickerbocker and the Knickerbocker, was enrolled in 1840 in Detroit under ownership of O. Newberry. and W.H. Barse. It was chartered to carry cargo between Detroit and Mackinaw and Lake Michigan ports. The schooner was purchased in 1847 by J. Van de Luyster to facilitate the delivery of goods to and from Holland, MI, as well as to bring Dutch immigrants to the village.

However, due to financial problems and the constant shoaling and multitude of bars at the mouth of the Detroit River, the ship proved unprofitable. The A.V. Knickerbocker was sold to buyers Guido Pfister, Jacob Sunenmacher, and Hy Hanson from Milwaukee in 1848.
On Sunday August 26, 1855 the schooner A.V. Knickerbocker capsized in a gale 10 miles offshore of Port Washington. The wreck was ignored by the schooner Charley Hibbard which passed close by. The master of the Charley Hibbard, Captain Doyle, believed it too great a risk to assist the crew of the Knickerbocker because the Hibbard was heavily laden with lumber. With the foremast cut away and the Knickerbocker partly righted, it drifted ashore about 6 miles north of Port Washington.

When the vessel eventually struck the shore, two members of the crew were able to swim ashore to retrieve the Port Washington lifeboat. Captain Richards and two others crew members were left clinging to the vessel's bottom. The captain later drowned trying to swim to shore, but the remaining two sailors made their escape safely from the wreck.
The A.V. Knickerbocker was abandoned in the surf, and its remains are probably still buried under the beach. The remains were reportedly visible on the beach up until 1920, but the exact location is no longer known.