This town was laid out by the Boswell Improvement Company in 1901 near the mine that was opened by the Merchant Coal Company in the same year. It was named in honor of Thomas T. Boswell, the president and general manager of both the mine and improvement company.
A tipple built there by the mining company was hailed as the largest in the world at that time. It spanned 1,080 feet and rose 98 feet into the air. After the mine closed in 1938, the tipple was dismantled. Only a few concrete pillars now mark the site where it stood. At one time the mine produced an average 2,000 tons of coal a day and employed about 4103.
Boswell grew very rapidly in population and was incorporated into a borough in 1904. In 1930, it had a population of 1775 persons.
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