CRETE, NE — One hundred and fifty years after Doane University’s founding, works from the Doane family are  still proving crucial in research projects.

"This is probably of all the things we have in our archives one of the most special and unique," Professor of History Dr. Kim Jarvis said. "I'm very grateful that not only are we been able to work to preserve it but also to offer it to the public."

Jarvis has been working with students on a research project focused on exploring the environmental history of Nebraska.

The research and exhibit were part of a grant program awarded by the Council of Independent Colleges for the Humanities Research for the Public Good project. 

The research culminated with an exhibit called "The Flora of the Tallgrass Prairie: Past and Present." One of the main features? Watercolor paintings of Nebraska plant life painted by Mary Doane, the sister of Doane University’s founder Thomas Doane.

The earliest of the paintings date back to 1873, one year after the schools was established, then as Doane College.

"It kind of tied it together perfectly," Jarvis said. "The grant had to be postponed for a year due to COVID, so it ended up matching up almost perfectly with the 150th anniversary. What we were able to do is when the Doane family was on campus in the summer, we were able to have the exhibit about Mary Doane and Professor Swezey set up for them."

Swezey was a Professor of Natural History who taught at Doane in the 1880s and 90s. In his time at the school, Swezey and his students collected over 500 Nebraska plant species. The university still has most of his collection preserved with mercury. 

"That was really exciting to go through and look at," Jarvis said. "With the mercury, we washed our hands every five minutes. We were able to match up some of his species with what Mary Doane painted and that was part of the exhibit as well."

Anabelle Daugherty is one of the students who worked on the project. A junior history and sociology major, she presented their project at a conference in Baltimore for the Council of Independent Colleges earlier this year.

"That was really a high point for us," Daugherty said. "We loved looking at [the paintings] and our exhibit was really popular at the conference because they're just so pretty and everyone loved looking at them and how vibrant they were after all these years."

She talks about the opportunities the project gave her.

"I've never done, before this, outside of a class research that was this extensive," Daugherty said. "That practical experience was really valuable [for me]. I also got to work with a lot of people that I wouldn't have gotten to work with otherwise like Dr. Jarvis. We got to work on another level outside the classroom, which was really cool and rewarding experience."

The project was done in partnership with the Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center. The Council of Independent Colleges awarded a $10,000 grant for work on the project. 

"What we hope along with our partners Spring Creek Prairie hope to do is to have people leave that exhibit seeing the value of nature and how, in the case of Mary Doane's watercolors, an individual from the 19th century still had some of the same appreciation for nature that we see today."