Boswell Observatory at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska, was built in 1883 and served mainly as a time service observatory while also teaching students through direct astronomical observation. Its original eight-inch Alvan Clark telescope reflects the role of late 19th-century American college observatories in combining instruction with careful study. The observatory is the oldest building on the Doane campus still in functional use. Though it no longer serves as a weather station, it has been well preserved, continues to be used by astronomy classes, opens to the public at times during the year, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Doane College Historic Buildings.