Seneca was built as a civilian steam yacht in 1888 at Boston, Massachusetts. On 7 May 1917, the U.S. Navy acquired her from her owner, the Johnson Lighterage Company, for use as a minesweeper and patrol vessel on the section patrol during World War I. She was commissioned as USS Seneca (SP-427) on 17 July 1917 with Boatswain Thomas Winant, USNRF, in command. Based at Tompkinsville, Staten Island, New York, Seneca carried out minesweeping and patrol duties for the rest of World War I. In 1918, she was renamed USS SP-427.