The Oregon Section of the Society of Women Engineers was originally chartered in 1979. In 1995, the Pacific Northwest Section ceded the Clark and Cowlitz counties of WA to the Oregon Section. In 1997, the Oregon Section became the Columbia River Section.

​In 2011, the Columbia River Section endowed its first scholarship. This scholarship was renamed to the Coral Jean Cotterell Achievement Scholarship in 2013.

In 2014, the Columbia River Section exceeded 100 members for the first time! 
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