The contract to build her was awarded to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine on 17 December 1958 and her keel was laid down on 24 November 1959. She was launched on 9 December 1961 sponsored by Mrs. Samuel B. Stratton, the wife of Congressman Samuel B. Stratton of New York, and commissioned on 17 October 1964, with Commander Robert B. Brumsted in command.