George and Sarah Joslyn were important business and community leaders and were the wealthiest couple in Nebraska during the first two decades of the Twentieth Century. They built a home to reflect their status in 1903 on what was then a hill on Omaha’s western outskirts. They engaged architect John McDonald to design a baronial castle and he chose one in the Scottish style. It cost about $6 million to build in 21st century dollars. The estate’s original landscaping was stunning as the grounds were planted with rare and exotic plants from all over the world.