Thomas Doane was born in Orleans, Massachusetts, in 1821. He came to Nebraska in 1869 as chief engineer of the Burlington and Missouri Railroad, an extension of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad of Boston. In 1871 Doane, along with Reverend Frederick Alley, established the Crete Academy. In 1872, because of the efforts of Thomas Doane, the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad gave a grant of 600 acres of land in Crete toward the establishment of a college. A board of trustees was established and the interests of the Crete Academy were transferred to the newly incorporated Doane College, named for Thomas Doane to honor him for all he did to get the college established in Crete. He pledged several thousands of his own money to the school and sat on the board of trustees from its incorporation in 1872 until his death in 1897.
Sources: 1) Don Ziegler, A College on a Hill and Beyond, (Doane College, Crete, Nebraska, 2007), 7-11. 2) Janet L. Jeffries, Images of America, Crete (South Carolina, Arcadia Publishing, 2012), 63.
