Ocoee was built in 1911 as a private motorboat of the same name by the Matthews Boat Building Company at Port Clinton, Ohio. On 24 August 1917, the U.S. Navy chartered her from her owner, H. Walter Blumenthal of New York City, for use as a section patrol vessel during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Ocoee (SP-1208) on 17 September 1917.