Triton spent her entire career operating from the Washington Navy Yard at Washington, D.C. She frequently steamed down the Potomac River to the naval reservation at Indian Head, Maryland; during 1900 alone, she recorded 198 round-trips between Washington and Indian Head. During Tritons 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.
