USLHT Iris (1897 ship)

USLHT Iris was a steel-hulled, steam-powered ship built in Philadelphia in 1897. She began life as an excursion boat for day trips between Boston and Plymouth, Massachusetts as Plymouth. She was purchased by the Lighthouse Board and became a lighthouse tender in 1899. She was transferred to the United States Navy during World War I and became USS Iris. She returned to her duties with the United States Lighthouse Service in 1919. She was sold in 1939 and became a collier and bulk freighter named Big Chief. In 1942, after the American entry into World War II, the ship was requisitioned into military service with the United States Army Corps of Engineers. She was transferred to the Navy for the second time in 1943 and became USS Big Chief (IX-101). Declared surplus after the war, she was sold back into private hands in 1948 and became a fishing boat for the remainder of her career. Her name was changed yet again after a 1954 refit to B. O. Colonna. She was scrapped in 1973.