William Jennings Bryan was born in Salem, Illinois in 1860, moved to Lincoln in 1887, entered law practice, and was elected to Congress in 1890. He won the first of three presidential nominations with his "Cross of Gold" speech at the Democratic National Convention in 1896. Fairview was built in 1901-1902 with proceeds from his publications at a cost of more than $10,000.00, and Bryan envisioned it as a new Monticello. He accepted the 1908 presidential nomination on the home's front steps, and during the 1912 campaign Woodrow Wilson visited as political figures regularly came to consult with "The Great Commoner." There Bryan gathered mementos from his unsuccessful political campaigns and his world tour of 1905, held many lawn parties with his wife for friends, and watched over the farming of the surrounding fields. Mrs. Bryan's health forced the family to leave Nebraska in 1917 after Bryan had served as President Wilson's Secretary of State. In 1922 Fairview was deeded to Lincoln Methodist Hospital, now Bryan Memorial Hospital. William Jennings Bryan died in 1925 after the famed Scopes trial and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.