The first meeting of the Northwest Scientific Association took place in the Davenport Hotel in Spokane, Washington on the evening of February 9, 1923. The organizing committee had formed at the urging of Spokane's Superintendent of Public Schools, Orville C. Pratt to organize a scientific association for the Inland Empire. The first general meeting was held at the Lewis and Clark High School April 6, 1923 and it was attended by a small group of regional scientists. In April of 1924, the first NWSA program meeting was held in conjunction with the Inland Empire's Teacher's Association Annual Meeting. Forty-seven papers were presented in the categories of Botany-Zoology, Chemistry-Physics, Education, Geology--Geography, Medicine-Bacteriology and Plant Pathology. Membership was $1.00 annually.

Many prominent Northwest scientists contributed to the leadership of the NWSA including: Dr. M.F. Angell, University of Idaho; Dr. Curtiss Meriman, Cheney Normal; Dr. F.D. Heald, Washington State College; E.A Bryan, Washington State College, and W.C. Hungerford. It was due largely to the efforts of these men and other dedicated regional scientists that NWSA began to publish a quarterly journal which included publication of the papers presented at the NWSA Annual Meetings.

NWSA became duly incorporated as a nonprofit organization under Washington State law on May 7, 1928 (Article 6566). Three officers, eight councilors and eleven trustees comprised the structure of the association at that time. There was some restructuring in the 1950s and again in the 1970s. The councilors were replaced by members elected to standing committees by the president and the position of Secretary-Treasurer divided into two separate positions.

NWSA became affiliated with the Pacific division of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1932. NWSA membership included more than 500 scientists and educators from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California. An endowment for the organization was established in 1936 as a memorial for NWSU Past President and Trustee Howard R. Flint, who had died in 1933. The Flint family and several members of the U.S. Forest Service including Major E.W. Kelly and Bob Marshall contributed to the fund. AAAS grants and the Flint Fund made it possible for the NWSA to fund scientific research grants.

The NWSA had two primary goals. The first was to encourage scientific research in the Northwest in the form of grants and by creating a forum where scientists could meet and exchange ideas. The second goal was to establish a journal to publish and aid scientific research in the Northwest. The first Northwest Science journal was published in May, 1928. In 1948, publication of the journal switched from the presses of the Daily Idahonian in Moscow, Idaho, to the State College of Washington Press. The journal published research on the natural and social sciences in the Northwest and was one of the earliest forums for research relating to the Columbia River Basin Project. In 1952, Northwest Science was abstracted or indexed in the Agricultural Index, Bibliography of Agriculture, Biological Abstracts and Chemical Abstracts; institutions and individuals in 34 countries subscribed to the journal.

NWSA continues to be the foremost organization of its kind in the Northwest. Its membership spans the globe and it has expanded its geographical focus to include British Columbia. The journal has enjoyed a sixty five year long reputation for scholastic and scientific excellence to the benefit of NWSA members and the scientific community.