LCC was established in 1934 as Lower Columbia Junior College. Our first students registered for classes at Korten's Music Store in Longview, Dahlman Hardware in Castle Rock, and the Orr Furniture Store in Kelso. Accounts of the number of students who enrolled that first year vary from 42 to 55.

Students managing the College's first student newspaper, The Lower Columbian, put out ten issues that year. The founding faculty held classes at R.A. Long High School. The first graduating class of seven students received their associate degrees in 1936.

In the College's second year, enrollment doubled to 96. As the number of students increased, instruction expanded into the Myklebust building in downtown Longview, and the Moose Hall. The Moose Hall continued to house classes until 1949, when it was condemned due to earthquake damage. Classes also met on the first floor of the Longview Public Library. Enrollment continued to increase, with 149 students in 1939, up to 200 in the early 1950s, finally reaching 300 students in 1954. The proportion of female students also increased during that time.

In 1948, the College received its first accreditation from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

During the 1930s and 1940s, the College struggled with financial problems, and began to look for its own campus. Twenty-six acres were purchased from the Longview Company in 1942, at a reported bargain price. In 1950, construction began on "Old Main," LCC's first permanent building. The original building had 13 classrooms, and cost a quarter of a million dollars. The Lower Columbia College League, an association of friends of the College, helped raise funds to pay for the construction.

After the College had achieved financial stability, it became a part of the Longview School District. In 1961, the College was elevated from a "junior college" to a "community college." In 1967, LCC joined the state-supported community college system. Today, the College includes 25 buildings on 35 acres, and enrolls over 4,000 students each quarter.