Published January 14, 2025 | Updated May 13, 2026

George Joslyn hated it when his Lynhurst residence was referred to as a castle. Even so, the name stuck. Now it sits as a symbol of the Joslyn’s wealth and generosity in its namesake neighborhood.

By the time George Joslyn passed away in 1916, he was the wealthiest man in Nebraska. Born in Massachusetts in 1848, he moved with his family to their farm in Vermont before working for his uncle’s clothing business, Rice Brothers Collar Manufacturers in Montreal, Quebec. He married his cousin, Sarah Selleck in 1872, which wasn’t altogether unusual at the time, especially in rural farming communities like the one they were from. Described as a strong-minded, no-nonsense woman with a dry wit and an adventurous spirit, the two built a life together that would reshape Omaha.

By 1879 he had left the clothing business and headed west. The couple landed in Des Moines where he obtained a job as a printer and bookkeeper for another relative’s business, the Iowa Printing Company, which supplied “ready-to-print” articles and advertisements to small-town newspapers. From there, the Joslyns moved to Omaha in 1880 and George set up a branch office and began accumulating stock in the company. He quickly rose through the ranks as Iowa Printing was renamed the Western Newspaper Union.

After George took it over, he built the company into the largest supplier of “ready-to-print” newspapers, essentially sheets pre-printed with general news and features on one side. The company then shipped those sheets to 7,500 small-town newspapers where editors printed local news on the other side. By the 1900s, Western Newspaper Union’s newspapers reached over 70% of the population.

While riding on horseback on the western outskirts of the city, the Joslyns discovered breathtaking sights from Dewitt Sutphen’s farm at what is now 39th and Davenport Streets. Perched atop a hill just west of the Gold Coast and north of West Farnam, it offered an impressive view of the developing downtown business district sitting along the Missouri River. Clearly taken aback, they acquired the five-acre tract in 1893.

The Joslyns lived in the Sutphen house for six years while they transformed the property starting with the landscaping. The couple loved flowers so in addition to installing greenhouses, they planted more than 100 varieties of trees, shrubs, flowers and plants, some rare. Not only that but they added a rock garden, grotto, and swimming pool whose water spilled beneath a limestone bridge and flowed into a lily pond. By 1899, the outdoor oasis on the Joslyn property was largely complete.

As the grounds were being developed, they moved the old Sutphen house in 1896 to begin construction on Lynhurst. They hired two of Omaha’s premier architects and close friends, John and Alan McDonald, to design the 35-room mansion in a Scottish Baronial style. The massive estate conveyed an air of old money and sophistication befitting their newfound wealth. The structure is said to have drawn inspiration from two Gilded Age masterpieces: Jay Gould’s Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, New York, and Potter Palmer’s castle on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.

After 18 months, 100 men, and nearly $250,000 (about $8.5M today), Lynhurst was complete in 1903. The Joslyn family, including daughter Violet, moved into the four-story mansion that became known as Joslyn Castle, a moniker that George despised. The exterior was constructed with Kansas limestone while the interior featured carved wood, stained glass, chiseled stone, mosaic tiles, and wrought iron. The interior decorations alone cost another $50,000, with most of the furniture obtained at either the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair or the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

Joslyn Castle featured a large reception hall that opened to adjoining rooms with pocket doors and a sweeping 2½-story mahogany staircase that led to a third-floor ballroom they used just twice for its intended purpose. It also included a library, drawing room and game room for billiards, cards and smoking, as well as a gymnasium, two-lane bowling alley and mechanical bull. Not even their dogs were overlooked, as marble fountains were installed in the hall to allow them to quench their thirst after a long day patrolling the grounds. Other features included telephones, central heating, gas, electricity, a refrigeration room, and indoor plumbing with bathrooms for each bedroom. Even with all of that, they weren’t quite finished. In 1907 they added a stone addition that was used for a music room complete with a pipe organ, bringing the castle to 19,360 square feet.

George was clearly displeased with proposed tax legislation and attempted to prove his point when, shortly after its completion, he threatened to leave town in 1904. They went so far as to board up the castle and let their livestock graze on the once-immaculate lawn. It was a game of showmanship as the Joslyns never intended to leave permanently. Once the state changed its position on the legislation, they returned.

Ten years after it was completed, the Joslyn estate was damaged as a result of the Easter tornado of 1913. A portion of the grounds, greenhouse, a small lake and a bridge were destroyed. The Joslyns were so disheartened that they considered moving. Only the announcement of Violet’s engagement to David Magowan convinced them to stay. Following their 1913 marriage at the castle, the couple moved to New York in 1920, at which point he went to work at his father’s law office. In the aftermath of the storm, the Joslyns donated the greenhouse frame and orchids, one of the nation’s best collections, to Hanscom Park. They then hired landscape architect Jens Jensen to design a new conservatory with curved glass panels, rock walls, and a small pool and fountain inside the house.

George Joslyn passed away at 68 years old in 1916, while Sarah continued to live on the 5½-acre estate, though over time she reduced the staff from 25 to just three. When asked why she stayed in Omaha rather than move somewhere like California, she said, “The money was made in Omaha and it will be spent in Omaha.” When she passed away in 1940, the grounds were overgrown and unkempt.

Sarah’s will left their beloved Lynhurst to the Joslyn Memorial (present day Joslyn Art Museum). She built the structure in 1931 in honor of her late husband. The Joslyn Liberal Arts Society managed the property until it was donated to the city in 1944, at which point it served as the administrative offices for Omaha Public Schools. OPS continued to use it for that purpose until 1989, when the offices moved to a larger space at the former Technical High School.

During its 45 years, the school district kept changes to a minimum but did install a modern heating and cooling system, elevator, restrooms and office walls in the ballroom. Economics forced the razing of the gatekeeper’s house, cow barn, rock garden and bridge, while the pond and pool were covered as the conservatory was used as office space. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, the castle was transferred to the State of Nebraska in 1989, which rented it for meetings, conventions and weddings while conducting public tours.

The Joslyn Castle & Gardens purchased the property in 2010 and began the process of restoring not just the castle but the grounds and gardens to their original grandeur. As the renovation was underway, a treasure trove of long-forgotten furniture and artifacts were discovered in storage at Joslyn Art Museum. Among the recovered items were tables, chairs, a music stand, floor lamp, loveseat, phonograph, music box and steamer trunk — all sitting in storage since Sarah’s death 70 years earlier.

Joslyn Castle remains one of Omaha’s oldest and largest surviving private estates. While formal by appearance, its iconic and storied grounds are open to the public and even a welcome place to play hide-and-seek when it isn’t hosting a Summer Fete or similar event.

Have you been to Joslyn Castle? If so, what are some of your favorite memories or experiences? I’d like to hear what you have to say so feel free to leave a comment. Until next time, keep exploring!

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• Omaha World-Herald archives
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/206307091/dewitt-clinton-sutphen
• https://joslyncastle.com/about/the-joslyns.html
• https://joslyncastle.com/about/the-castle.html