Rowan was laid down on 10 May 1915 by the Fore River Shipbuilding Company, Quincy, Massachusetts; launched 23 March 1916, sponsored by Miss Louise McL.

Ayres, great-niece of Admiral Rowan; and commissioned at Boston, Massachusetts, on 22 August 1916, Lieutenant William R. Purnell in command.

Following shakedown, Rowan, based at Newport, Rhode Island, operated along the Atlantic coast during the fall of 1916, then participated in winter exercises in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.

From then, through the remainder of the war, Rowan conducted antisubmarine patrols and escorted convoys to both British and French ports.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.