The college started in 1867 in Albany, Oregon as part of the Presbyterian Church. At that time is was called Albany Collegiate Institute. The first class graduated in 1873. In 1905 the school changed its name to Albany College and started giving Bachelor of Arts degrees. The school opened a campus in Portland in 1934. The Portland campus was very popular, so the school decided to move there. The school opened a much larger campus in Portland in 1942, and renamed the school Lewis & Clark College, to honor the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In 1966, the school stopped being part of a church and became a secular school.