 Construction of the ships was authorized on 30 June 1890 and the contract for Massachusetts — not including guns and armor — was awarded to William Cramp & Sons of Philadelphia, who offered to build it for $ 3,020,000. The total cost of the ship was almost twice as high, approximately $ 6,000,000. The contract specified the ship had to be built in three years, but slow delivery of armor plates and guns caused a delay. Her keel was laid down on 25 June 1891 and she was launched two years later on 10 June 1893. The launching ceremony was attended by thousands of people, including Secretary of the Navy Hilary A. Herbert and commander George Dewey. Her preliminary sea trial did not take place until March 1896 because of the delays in armor and gun deliveries. At this point Massachusetts was almost complete, and her official trial was held a month later.
