From: Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Vol.I, Part A - p 348

Arcata

A village in Humboldt County, Calif., whose name is an Indian word meaning "sunny spot."

(CGC: dp. 140; 1. 85'; b. 17'; dr. 10'4"; cpl. 15)

Arcata--a wooden-hulled Coast Guard cutter--was built in 1903 at San Francisco, Calif., by W. A. Boote and Son, and reported to her duty station at Port Townsend, Wash. Over the next few years, Arcata operated in the waters of the Pacific northwest, principally in the Puget Sound area, carrying out such duties as patrolling regattas, looking over fishing grounds, and occasionally working as a boarding vessel. With the outbreak of war in 1914, Arcata conducted patrols to make sure neutrality laws were obeyed.

Transferred to the Navy on 6 April 1917 upon the American entry into World War I, Arcata continued to perform similar duty in Puget Sound through the end of the war. Returned to the Coast Guard on 23 August 1919, Arcata operated under that service into the early 1930s.