The steam propeller J.C. Gilchrist was built at Trenton, Michigan in 1887. In 1904 the Gilchrist was renamed the Vermillion.
In 1915 the Vermillion was dismantled and sold at Milwaukee. On June 1st, 1917 the hull of the Vermillion was brought to Sturgeon Bay. The owners, Leathem & Smith, burned her to the water's edge at their dock in order to convert her to a stone carrier. In 1920 she sank at her moorings at the Smith Dock and in 1923 she was raised and moved to the Smith quarry to be used as a break water.