Miss Toledo was built in 1917 by the Dachel-Carter Shipbuilding Corporation at Benton Harbor, Michigan. On 30 April 1918, the U.S. Navy acquired her under a free lease from her owner, R. M. Ellery of Toledo, Ohio, for use as a section patrol boat during World War I. She was assigned the section patrol number SP-1711.
Although presumably acquired for patrol work on the Great Lakes, Miss Toledo apparently saw no active naval service. The Navy returned her to Ellery on 14 December 1918.