Roomy accommodations were provided for officers and crew, these cruisers being mainly intended for long cruises on distant stations.

[2][3][4] As the U.S. Navy began to rebuild its fleet with steel-hulled vessels to keep pace with the advance of naval technology in the 1880s, it explored a wide range of conceptual designs.

[1][3] In May 1889, the Department of the Navy invited proposals for the construction of three cruisers of about 2,000 tons displacement each, at a cost of not more than $700,000 each.

[2][6] On October 28, 1889 the Department awarded contracts to the Columbian Iron Works and Dry Dock Company for the construction of two of these cruisers (Montgomery and Detroit) for the sum of $612,500 each, and on November 1 it awarded City Point Iron Works the contract for the construction of the other cruiser (Marblehead) for the sum of $674,000.

The class had poor stability as built due to the armored deck,[10] and only one ship (either Detroit or Montgomery) was actually completed with the 6-inch guns.

[11] Coal bunkers and a cofferdam of "Woodite" (cellulose) were also part of the protection; this was called "coal-protected".

[5] She was reboilered with six Almy boilers in 1918,[4] when she was reactivated for coastal patrol duty as USS Anniston.

[17] During the Spanish–American War, Montgomery blockaded and bombarded Cuba, capturing two Spanish merchant vessels.

[16][17][18] Detroit operated in the Caribbean, intervening diplomatically to resolve an insurgency in the Dominican Republic in 1904.