She was built for P. Dougherty & Company, a Baltimore-based towing firm, and named the Douglas H. Thomas after a prominent Baltimore banker with ties to local shipping.

The Triton's hull was of riveted iron construction, with a long deckhouse topped by the pilot house.

She was equipped with a 300 hp (220 kW) reversible triple expansion steam engine.

During Triton's career, Indian Head was home first to the Naval Proving Grounds in the 1890s and then to the Naval Powder Factory during the first half of the 20th century; in all probability, Triton towed barges to Indian Head laden with materials to be used there in the testing of naval guns and in the production of gunpowder and explosives.

She was lost with all nine crew members on 30 December 1962, at the entrance to Huntington Bay (Long Island Sound), NY, during a brutal winter gale.