Living in Privilege George & Sarah Joslyn, their castle and The Offutts

Lynhurst Castle

The Castle  Construction began in 1898 completed in 1903 by John McDonald  Construction was lulled due to the Trans – Mississippi Expo  A copy of the Scottish style manor  First built was a green house spanning 1,440 sq ft to house Orchids (destroyed in the 1913 tornado)  3 floors, 35 rooms, 19,000 sq ft, full lower level, its own power station  $250,000 to build, $50,000 to furnish ($6 Million today) earliest air conditioning system A bowling alley Fully equipped gymnasium When done, it was the biggest Mansion in Omaha

The Joslyns George Joslyn Sarah Joslyn Married in 1872 in Waitsfield, Vermont Moved to Omaha from Des Moines, IA George was a very diversified businessman Sarah was a social elite.

Joslyn: a Self Made Man  Born in Vermont in 1858  moved to Montreal for Prep school  Attended Yale University  Got into the Printing Bus. and opened an office in Omaha   George was the owner of several buildings and properties in Omaha   Founded Western Chemical Company, the largest producer of Lithium in the US.   Ran 2 hotels: the St. Charles and the Metropolitan both on Harney street.

Sarah and the Arts  Created the Arts Society in Omaha  Avid collector of prize winning orchids  Gave $$ to the arts  Took George’s fortune and created the Joslyn Art Museum in  Gave to several charities

The Joslyn Art Museum

Joslyn Children  One child was born to the Joslyns – Clifton Howard Joslyn died at birth in 1873  Only one child was adopted – Violet Carl  The Joslyns raised her as their own daughter  Violet was married in the house in 1913

A View Inside

The Joslyn Legacy  The Joslyn Art Museum opening in 1931 for the Omaha community  At the time of George’s death, his newspaper Western Newspaper Union was the largest in the world  Joslyn was the richest man in Nebraska at the time of his death  The Joslyns gave away more than $7 million to charities

The Joslyns at Forest Lawn

The Offutt Family  Charles Lemuel Offutt  Successful Omaha Lawyer  Youngest Speaker of the House in Kentucky history  Father of Jarvis J. Offutt

The Offutt Family  Bertha Yost- Offutt  Daughter of Casper and Anna Yost – wealthy Omaha family  She had 3 children: Casper Jr., Jarvis, and Virginia

The Offutt Family  Jarvis (right)  Casper (left) Virginia

Jarvis Jennes Offutt  1 st Lieutenant Jarvis J. Offutt was killed in combat in World War 1  Offutt Air Force Base renamed for him in his honor in 1922 First row, 2 nd from left

Jarvis at Forest Lawn

Offutt Air Force Base

The Cornerstone Mansion

Offutt - Yost

Bertha Yost - Offut

Charles L. Offutt

Offutt – Yost House

Margret Killian’s “Born Rich”